Kuroko no Basuke Rewrite: Teiko Days
by Prunus mume
Summary: Kuroko Tetsuya had just started Teiko Middle School and has caught the attention of five other students. The five of them all seem to want to solve the enigma that is the blue-haired boy and were enamored by him. To everyone else in Teiko, you should never harm or get close to Kuroko unless you want to face the wrath of five future basketball stars. Kuroko/GOM.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello to everyone out there. This is my first Kuroko no Basuke fanfic. I am currently also writing a fanfic for Harry Potter so if you're interested, you can check it out. I might take a long time to update seeing school is starting soon but I hope you'll all like my stories enough to bare with me. I just started out so I would love to hear your thoughts on my stories for me to improve so if you can, please review.**

 **Kuroko no Basuke and it's characters belongs to Fujimaki Tadatoshi. Thank you very much. Enjoy!**

Chapter 1

It was the start of a new school year. The cherry blossoms floated down onto the pavement in front of Teiko Middle School. New students wandered around as many older students handed out information on their respective clubs. In the crowd, a boy with blue hair walked forward, unnoticed. He bumped into a few people on the way but no one showed signs of seeing him. A tan boy with dark blue hair was talking to a pink-haired girl when the pale, blue-haired boy bumped into the other boy and apologized before continuing on. The tan boy turned his head around with an apology on his lips but stopped when he saw no one near. Confused he turned back around and walked away with the pink-haired girl.

The pale, blue-haired boy continued walking as he read his book. Ignoring the conversation between a green-haired boy who carried a phone book and a book club member. He passed on, not noticing a purple-haired giant and a yellow-haired boy with a large crowd around them. Near the entrance, a red-haired boy was dropped off by an expensive-looking car. The six new students all headed for the school building, not knowing how much their lives would be entwined with each other.

After the entrance ceremony, the students all went to their respective classes. Kuroko Tetsuya, the name of the pale, blue-haired boy, finally closed the book as he glanced around the classroom. The teacher has yet to arrive and the students were all in different crowds already making new friends. A few times, he was almost sat on before he made his presence known and the student moves on, instantly forgetting about him once again. This didn't faze Kuroko. He continued to watch the interactions between his classmates, noting the crowd around a yellow-haired boy, and green-haired boy was sitting primly with, for some strange reason, a phone book in his lap. As he continued watching, he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder. Kuroko turned around calmly and came face to face with a boy with a pair of sharp red eyes and red hair.

The boy gave a smile as he asked, "May I sit here?" and indicated to the seat next to Kuroko.

Kuroko blinked a bit for it was unusual for people to notice him before nodding. The other boy smiled a bit before sitting down. After he placed his bag down on the desk, he turned back to Kuroko and said, "I'm Akashi Seijuro, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Kuroko started at Akashi for a bit before replying, "Kuroko Tetsuya, it's a pleasure to meet you, Akashi-kun."

At this point the home room teacher came in and the class turned their attention to her when she coughed. The teacher called roll and nearly had a heart attack when Kuroko finally was able to make his existence known to her. Akashi seemed to narrow his eyes at Kuroko when that happened with a glint in them. Kuroko calmly ignored it, although he had a feeling that it probably didn't mean anything good for him.

During lunch, Kuroko went up to the school roof and sat down next to the rail. He got out his lunch box and sighed. Akashi Seijuro had tried to join him but he had escaped with his misdirection technique. He probably wanted to question Kuroko's presence, or lack off. It seemed Kuroko had caught his attention from the first meeting and Kuroko is not very happy about it.

He finished his lunch quickly, as he only had a boiled egg, and was sipping on the vanilla shake he had bought from the cafeteria. He looked over the school ground from his viewpoint and was enjoying the silence when the door was slammed open by a tanned, dark-blue haired boy. With him was a pink-haired girl and the two were arguing about something along the lines of sleeping in class. The two didn't notice Kuroko and sat down near him with their lunch while continuing to argue. Kuroko tried to ignore them but after a few minutes, he got a bit annoyed. He turned toward the two and said, "Excuse me, can you keep it down, you're too loud."

The reaction he got were like everyone else. The two froze, finally seeing Kuroko, before turning pale and starting to scream about some ghost coming to hunt them. The tanned boy curled himself up into a ball and started praying while the girl backed away, screaming at the top of her lungs. Kuroko winced a bit at the sound but said calmly, "Please stop making a fuzz. You're hurting my ears and I'm pretty sure it's rude to call someone a ghost. The last time I checked, I'm very much alive."

The two stopped after that, both looked at him sheepishly before the girl said, "Sorry! I'm Momoi Satsuki and this," she indicated to the boy, "is Aomine Daiki. And you are?"

Kuroko gave a small nod of acknowledgement before saying, "Kuroko Testuya. It's good to meet you Momoi-san, Aomine-kun."

Aomine gave a grunt before starting his lunch and Momoi turned to reprimand him of being rude. Kuroko, seeing he had finished his vanilla milkshake, excused himself, not that they noticed. He threw the empty cup away and headed back to class. Five minutes before the next class started, Akashi came back into the classroom with a green-haired classmate. He noticed Kuroko and immediately narrowed his eyes a bit before heading over. The green-haired student walked back to his own seat, pushing his glasses up a bit although it slid right back down. Akashi sat down and asked, "Where were you during lunch, Kuroko?"

"I was on the rooftop, Akashi-kun." Kuroko replied calmly.

"Is that so, then let me join you tomorrow." Akashi said, equally as calm.

The two stared at each other. Kuroko felt a bit uncomfortable under Akashi's scrutiny. It was as though Akashi was dissecting him, leaving him, feeling naked, with those scarlet eyes. Of course, Kuroko did not let any of his feelings show on his face but he did give a small sigh of relief when the teacher came into the classroom, starting the next class.

After class, the students all left the classroom, excited to be signing up for the new clubs. As Kuroko walked down the busy hall toward the main gym where the basketball trial would be hold, he bumped into the yellow-haired boy who was walking around aimlessly. He fell to the ground with a small thump and the yellow-haired boy glanced around confusedly before glancing down and catching sight of him. He blinked his yellow eyes in surprise before smiling and said, "Sorry! I didn't see you there! Are you alright?"

Kuroko looked up at him and said, "I'm fine." Picking up his school bag, which he dropped, he stood up, bowed, and walked on. Before turning the corner, he turned around and said, "Please don't smile if you don't feel like it, Kise-kun. It's rather annoying."

Kise stared at the back of the boy's head in surprise, his smile dropping only to be replaced with a genuine smile before he bounded over to the boy and said, "You're amazing to notice it! Nee, nee, what's your name? You seem to already know mine. By the way, how did you know my name?"

Kuroko's eyes narrowed a bit in annoyance at the questions but answered them all calmly, "My name's Kuroko Tetsuya, Kise-kun. I happen to know your name because we're in the same class."

Kise's eyes widened in surprise again but quickly reverted back to normal as he smiled widely and said, "Eh! We're in the same class? I didn't know!" A lightbulb seemed to go up in his head as he said, "Ah! Nee, Kuroko-kun, what club are you joining!"

"Basketball." Came Kuroko's curt reply.

"Hmm, then let's join together! It's not like I've decided on what to join yet, anyways. Although I'm sure basketball won't be too challenging, I'll join anyways. You're interesting enough for now, Kuroko-kun."

Kuroko's eyebrow twitched a bit in annoyance, and continued on with Kise next to him, beaming. It was the first time Kise had met someone who can see through his acts. Being a model and a fast learner, he had perfected the act of a smile down to perfection that even the actors can't tell if it was real or fake. Kuroko was definitely interesting, even though he seemed to have a weak presence, and he needed something to ease his boredom while at school so he'll stick around him for now. Plus, he seems like someone useful for scaring away annoying fan girls with his ghost like presence. Of course, he hadn't earned his respect yet so he'll leave the "–chii" out for now.

Together the two arrived at the basketball court to a massive crowd of boys. Kuroko blinked in surprise. Were all these people here to join the basketball club? Never the less, he walked in with Kise following him like a puppy. He saw Akashi and the green-haired boy, Midorima Shintaro, and walked over to them.

Akashi saw Kuroko as he came closer and widened his eyes a bit. It was surprising to see Kuroko here. He didn't seem to have a lot of strength and seemed rather weak to be playing basketball. The only thing that was unusual about him is that, although seemingly weak, he didn't feel anything from the pale boy's presence. In fact, Akashi would have missed him had he not paid attention to his surroundings. Kuroko Tetsuya, Akashi decided, is a very unusual specimen.

Akashi's eyes narrowed when he saw the yellow-haired classmate next to Kuroko. He asked Kuroko about Kise Ryouta and learned that they had bumped into each other, literally. He introduced Kuroko to Midorima who gave a small nod at Kuroko's bow. A whistle caught their attention and they turned to the coach and captain at the front of the gym.

"Attention," Nijimura, the current second year captain, called out, "We will be starting our tryout now. As we seem to have a big group, we want everyone to split into groups of twenty and head to the gym assigned to the group."

Kise immediately grabbed Kuroko and said, "Let's be in the same team, Kuroko-kun!"

Akashi decided to have Kuroko on his group for this time with Midorima and Kise. They were joined by a few other first years including Aomine and a purple giant who had bags of snacks and looked bored. The group went through drills of dribbling, shooting and footwork. It soon became apparent that Kuroko was rather bad at it. In fact, he had missed all his shoots also he had shot with the right form and he kept tripping during the running. By the end of it, he looked like he didn't have any energy left.

Nijimura Shuzo, the current captain, couldn't believe how bad the kid by the name of Kuroko Tetsuya is. According to his application, he had some experience in basketball self-taught but no matter what, how can he be this bad? Aomine Daiki also had self-taught through street basketball but even though his form is a bit off, he can at least make the basket, although he does dunk too much. The only thing the boy seemed good at would be scaring his opponent to death by pretending to be a ghost. Without doubt, Nijimura thought, he'll be in third string and probably would be out before the year ends. He then checked the time before blowing the whistle. Once everyone had gathered, he said, "Alright, we will now have a few practice matches so I can see how you will do in games."

Kuroko perked up a bit hearing this. He became as excited as everyone although a few who were tired groaned. Akashi gave a small smirk as though he was given a challenge. Midorima used a finger to push up the middle of his glasses. Murasakibara Atsushi, the purple giant, was pouting because he had his snacks taken away at the beginning of the tryout. Aomine was almost shaking with joy and Kise looked really interested. As he had no basketball experience, he had watched the other players and had noticed how well Aomine is. Of course, that was between the times when he was trying not to laugh at how bad Kuroko was.

Nijimura split of the lower classmen into four groups. They were to play against one of the other teams until one team reached thirty points. He randomly separately the students and blinked when he somehow put the most promising players together with the worst one in group B. Ah well, it'll be good for them to show good judgement and not send Kuroko out to play so he won't have to worry about him.

Kuroko currently paid no attention to the fact that his possibility of a potion on the Teiko basketball club was next to zero. He looked toward Akashi, who had taken upon the position of the 'captain' for strategizing purposes and called out, "Akashi-kun."

Akashi looked over to him, a bit annoyed with the interruption and said, "What is it, Kuroko."

"Can you put me on for the match please?" Kuroko asked.

Akashi looked surprised. Kuroko hadn't shown that he would be very useful in the drills and yet he seemed to be rather calm about it all. It was all rather intriguing and Akashi would like to see exactly what Kuroko had planned

"Very well," Akashi said, "however, if you hold the team back, I will substitute you out."

Kuroko gave a small smile and said, "Understood, Akashi-kun." He turned to the rest of the group and said, "If you see me, please pass the ball to me."

Kise, Aomine, Midorima, and Murasakibara looked confused but nodded their heads.

Nijimura looked at the group in surprise. Instead of Akashi Seijuro, they're using Kuroko Tetsuya? It seems the rest of the group was confused as well but going along with it. Aomine looked like he could care less who he plays with as long as he can play. Kise looked confusedly between the red-haired boy and Kuroko as though unsure of what's going on. Murasakibara didn't seem to pay attention to anything and continued to look bored. Only Midorima Shintaro seemed to truly worry about this decision as he kept frowning at Akashi.

The other team seemed to also have chosen their starting players. None of the players were bad on group A, Nijimura mused, but the game would probably go to group "B" even with the liability by the name of Kuroko Tetsuya. The red head, Akashi Seijuro, seemed to be very good with strategies from the ways he had seen him go about the drills but what was he thinking putting him on first?

As the teams lined up, a boy from group "A" suddenly shouted, "Hey, I thought you're supposed to have five players?"

"We do have five players." Kuroko piped up causing everyone to look at him in surprise. Everyone except for the captain and group "A" screamed. Whispers erupted from the groups as they finally noticed the fifth player. Nijimura raised an eyebrow. Yep, the kid would make a good phantom.

Murasakibara stood at the center towering over the unfortunate boy from group "A". When the whistle blew, he easily got hold of the ball. Catching the sight of Kuroko's pastel-blue hair, he threw the ball in his direction.

Kuroko had just got pass his guard when he saw the ball coming and immediately got into position. With a simple tap, he sent the ball flying toward Aomine who ran pass his guard and caught the pass and dunked it. Everyone stared at the game with one thought, "What in the world is going on?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again! Here is the second chapter to my story. I hope you like it. Also, thank you to those who have sent a review. I am leaning toward making this a Kuroko/GoM fanfic. If you have any opinions on this, please give a review. Thank you!**

 **Kuroko no Basuke and it's characters are not mine and belongs to Tadatoshi Fujimaki.**

Chapter 2

Nijimura stared at what was happening in front of him in disbelief. Kuroko Tetsuya, a kid who seemed to have absolutely zero athletic sense, passed the ball so quick you can't even see it. He easily got pass the opposing team's defense and showed a rather good sense of judgement on the court almost like Akashi Seijuro. Never had Nijimura seen anything like this and he was just as stunned as everyone else.

Akashi Seijuro watched his team with an almost wild glint in his eyes. It seems his judgement was right. Kuroko Tetsuya is definitely not a normal student whether it was his weak presence or his basketball style. Misdirection, mostly used by magicians who uses it to direct attention to another object. Kuroko seems to be using the presence of the basketball and the players as a distraction for his opponents. Making his already weak presence weaker. Though there are limitations, it seems to be the perfect weapon for Kuroko.

The game was finished quickly since group "B" completely overwhelmed group "A". Everyone was silent as Nijimura blew the whistle, still not quite sure on what is going on. Kuroko sighed in relief that the short game was over. He suddenly felt an arm lock around his neck and turned to look into the face of Aomine Daiki. Aomine grinned at him and said, "Hey, Tetsu. What's with those passes? It's amazing! You know, also your presence is rather below average, you're a very interesting guy."

"Thank you for the compliment, Aomine-kun," Kuroko said as calmly as he could since he was still trying to catch his breath, "but it won't do for others to know my technique unless they have figured it out themselves. It would be troublesome if someone can break through my style."

At this point, Kise had joined in with the two, "Eh, but I kind of want to learn it! I couldn't see the moves so I can't learn it from watching! Nee, teach it to me, won't you, Kurokochi!"

"Idiot," at this point, Midorima Shintaro joined the conversation, "if he showed you, it won't be his special moves anymore and will lose the element of surprise. What will he do then if he ended up playing against you?" Midorima proceeded to push his glasses up.

Kuroko blankly stared up at Midorima before saying, "Ah, Midorima-kun. Your three-pointers were good. I'm sure that with some practice, it would be accurate to the point of being scary."

Midorima's cheeks seemed to pink a little at the compliment but he huffed and said, "Although I personally don't like you because you are confusing, your passes were good, I guess."

Aomine and Kise sweat dropped at that. Seriously, what was with this guy? If you're going to compliment someone, don't make it sound like an insult. The three of them didn't hear Kuroko quietly whisper, "As expected of Midorima-kun."

"Eh, you were in the game just now?" A new voice joined the group and everyone turned to see the purple-haired giant, Murasakibara, looking down at Kuroko. Kuroko's eyebrow furrowed a bit and annoyance can be seen in his eyes as he said, "Hai, Murasakibara-kun, I was just playing a while ago with you. Don't you remember passing to me?"

Murasakibara thought for a moment before it looked like he finally remembered. He voiced his discovery aloud. "Ah," he said, "I remember now. Sorry, I don't pay attention to the details. Well, nice to meet you Kuro-chin. Oh, I can call you Kuro-chin, right?" He then turned to Aomine, Kise, and Midorima and asked, "So who are you?"

The three guys twitched in annoyance. "We just played together!" the three shouted in unison, "At least remember your teammates!"

The four started some sort of argument after that and Kuroko slipped away as they were not watching. He didn't get far, though, as he came face to face with Akashi. Akashi smiled as Kuroko became even more annoyed because he was caught and said, "I must congratulate you, Kuroko. I must say you are the first to surprise me like this."

"Coming from Akashi-kun that must be a compliment." Kuroko said. He then turned to watch the game that had started between group "C" and group "D". So far, group "C" seemed to be doing better, but group "D" wasn't far behind on the score board. Kuroko and Akashi watched the game in silence as group "D" was able to pull forward with a close victory.

Everyone were soon gathered back in the main gym as the coaches and captains talked over what they had seen. They finally seemed to come to a conclusion and came back into the gym. By this time many were giddy and nervous as to whether they got in or not. The only ones who seemed to remain calm were Midorima, Akashi, Kuroko, and Murasakibara. Kise was a little overconfident as he talking non-stop to Kuroko who didn't listen to a thing he said. Aomine was still giddy from playing basketball just a while ago and Kuroko had a hard time trying to calm him down while ignoring Kise.

"Alright," the first string coach, Naoto Sanada, said, "I will first announce those on the third string. Number two: Saitou Nobuo, number…"

After the third and second strings were announced, Coach Naoto cleared his voice and said, "Next, I will announce the first string players." At this, many of the students' attention perked up and they whispered amongst themselves. No first year had made the first string in the first try. This is a very unusual event.

"Number eight: Aomine Daiki, number eleven: Midorima Shintaro, number twenty-three: Murasakibara Shintaro, number twenty-nine: Akashi Seijuro, number thirty-one: Kise Ryouta, and number thirty-two: Kuroko Tetsuya. That is all." Coach Naoto finished listing off the names and then announced the practice time and where to meet up before finally dismissing everyone there.

Kise grinned as both he and Kuroko made it into first string. He turned to Kuroko, hugged him, and shouted, "Isn't it great, Kurokochi! We both got on first string."

Kuroko, however, simply said, "Let go Kise-kun. It hurts."

Aomine turned over to them and said, "That's right, you should just let Tetsu go."

Kise frowned but reluctantly took his arm off Kuroko. Kuroko looked over at Aomine and said, "Thank you, Aomine-kun, but I've been wondering, why 'Tetsu'?"

Aomine grinned, "Eh, I thought it's a nice nickname. Why, you don't like it?"

"It's not that." Kuroko said.

"Ah," Kise joined in the conversation, "Then can I call Kurokochi by his first name too?"

"No." came Kuroko's blunt reply.

At this Kise started crying and mumbled about how Kuroko was being mean while Aomine smirked at his despair. Off to the side, Midorima sighed in annoyance at their antics while Murasakibara, who had gotten his snacks back, munched on some chips. Akashi was looking calculatingly between everyone, already trying to find the best way to utilize their abilities to the fullest.

Nijimura watched the group from afar as they interacted with one another. Well, two of them were arguing while the others were watching. He had insisted on Kuroko being put into the first string after he had seen his passes. The Coach relented because Nijimura wasn't one to make rash decisions but warned that if Kuroko turned out to be more trouble than he was worth, he'll be kicked out. Nijimura was sure that won't happen though because Kuroko seemed to be polite to a fault. During the match, however, he had a feeling that Kuroko had yet to show all his potential. He looks forward to how much the stoic boy can surprise his expectations. Yes, he looks forward to it very much.

Akashi is sure that this would be a very unusual school year as he walked home with his five teammates. He would have to make sure the five don't get into trouble that'll get them kicked out of the basketball team. They are important assets, for now. Midorima Shintaro is of similar family background to him so his father would surely approve. As for the others, Aomine Daiki's potential seems almost limitless, but it would seem, Akashi thought, he'll run into a wall soon at the rate he's going. Kise Ryouta and Murasakibara Atsushi are also special in their own way. One learns from other's movements instantly with one look while the other utilizes his height to his advantage. Both don't seem too serious about basketball so he'll have to work on that.

Kuroko is a paradox to Akashi Seijuro. He is seemingly weak, yet he still plays very well. He has a weak presence, but he has already made himself the thread that connects the group together with his presence. For sure, Kise wouldn't have joined the basketball club right off the bat if not for Kuroko. It seems as though everyone in the group shows a kinder and protective side when it came to the phantom player. He would have to keep watching to see how this would turn out. After all, Kuroko seems like he'll always exceed his expectations.

The six walked part of the ways home together with Momoi joining them. She had become the manager for the basketball club and happily listened to how their tryout went. Once again, she almost had a heart-attack when Kuroko greeted her but calmed down faster than the first time that they met. Somewhere along the way, she and Aomine had gotten into a long argument and only stopped when Akashi threatened them with a cold smile.

Kuroko waved goodbye to his new found friends as they reached a crossroad. At least, he considers them friends but he doesn't know how they feel about him. It felt strange to make this many friends on the first day of school but he won't complain about it. As he kept on walking to his home, he felt his phone vibrate and took it out to see who had sent him a message. He blinked as he saw that he had two messages already. He clicked on the first and smiled. It was from Ogiwara Shige. He had come back to Japan around the same time as Kuroko but lived in another district. The two became friends in America during the two years Kuroko was there through basketball. They had met on a street court and started playing together.

Ogiwara had made it into his basketball club as well so Kuroko sent him his congratulation and told him that he had made it into his club as a regular as well. After sending the text he looked at the second text to find it was from Kagami Taiga. It came with a picture of him and Himuro smiling at the camera with a basketball in their hands with Alex next to them. On it, Kagami asked about how Japan was and whether they had strong players or not as well as saying that the three of them are doing fine in America. Kuroko smiled as he remembered how the four of them would play basketball with Alex giving pointers off to the side. He had found his style of basketball through Alex's training and he and Ogiwara had improved drastically through her training. His physical ability didn't improve much, though.

After replying to Kagami's text. Kuroko closed his phone and looked toward the sky. Kagami won't be joining them for middle school but he had said he might be able to come for high school. Kuroko looks forward to it very much. For now, he'll help make the members in Teiko into worthy opponents of Kagami's so that he won't be disappointed and have a good match against Ogiwara's school, Meiko.

Thinking about Teiko, Kuroko frowned softly. His teammates were strong but he worries about that strength. In America, Kagami had been his light as he decided on his style. Right now, he is a shadow surrounded by many lights. It would be possible that the light might extinguish the shadow. The group were all strong both in character and physical attributes. Shall they get into a fight, it'll probably break the small amount of team spirit they have. He'll have to make sure that, before it happens, a strong bond will form around the team.

As Kuroko went to sleep that night, thinking about his new team, five others had gone to sleep reminiscing the light-blue haired boy. Each had a different feeling toward the unusual new friend: admiration, annoyance, curiosity, excitement, and adoration. However, in the end, they all looked forward to seeing him again the next day.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi! Sorry for the long wait! School had just started and I am a bit busy. I'll try my best to update my stories but it'll usually be on the weekends. Please be patient. I would update in a week at the quickest and two at the latest unless there are unforeseen circumstances. Thank you and please review!**

 **Kuroko no Basuke and it's characters does not belong to me. Without further ado, here is chapter 3.**

Chapter 3

The first few weeks of school quickly passed for the students of Teiko. The basketball club had fallen into a routinely practice. Akashi had become the vice-captain in the first week and the first year regulars quickly climbed to the top of the basketball circuit. In practice matches with other schools, the six had yet to be beaten even though there were a few close calls. Rumors spread of the six prodigy first years and Teiko became even more well known in basketball. Off the court, they were just middle school students. The six would eat lunch with their manager, Momoi, who also happened to be Aomine's childhood friend. For some reason, Aomine and Kise would always get into banters and cause trouble till Akashi decides to stop them. Sometimes, Midorima and/or Momoi would also join their banter and Kuroko would make short but blunt comments off to the side, which doesn't help the situation at all. After practice, the six would usually walk part of the ways home and head in different directions after bidding each other goodbye. All in all, it was really enjoyable. It all changed after the Wednesday of the fourth week.

That Wednesday had started off like the last week. Everything went as usual and the seven had enjoyed lunch together again. Aomine and Momoi had gotten into a fight this time over Aomine's lack of attentiveness in class. They stopped after Akashi said that Aomine can do what he wants however, (at this, he gave a 'sweet' smile) shall he not pass, he will get double his current training.

That afternoon, Kuroko walked down to practice like usual with Kise tagging behind him and Akashi and Midorima off in front a bit. When they arrived, they blinked at the sight. Most of the first stringers were on the ground completely tired out as they panted with sweat dripping down their face. Standing in the middle was a silver-haired boy with piercings and a smirk on his face. Though he was panting like crazy, he didn't seem fazed at the others. In fact, a smirk adorned his face. He turned toward Nijimura, who had been watching with an unreadable expression and said, "So, do I get to be a regular or not?"

It was the first time the prodigy group had met Haizaki Shougo and without a doubt, almost all of them hated him. After Nijimura unwillingly placed him in the basketball team, he would always skip practice and was only present during practice matches where he would, once again, beat the seniors with their own moves. During lunch, he always seemed to steal food off of Kuroko's lunchbox. Kuroko didn't mind, though, as he never ate much in the first place but the rest would glare at the silver-haired boy every time he came near them.

To the rest of the group, Haizaki was a disturbance to their established routine. During the first week, they all had become a bit possessive of Kuroko. He always seemed so fragile and small. Of course, every time they see Kuroko play, the idea flew out of the window and they are awed yet again. Akashi enjoyed Kuroko's practically unreadable expression; Midorima found someone who shared his interest in books; Aomine found a partner for basketball; Kise found the one who can see past his acts; and Murasakibara found someone who would give him snacks. Everyone else had learned not to harm or get near Kuroko early on when a senior got into an 'accident' after threatening Kuroko because he seemed the weakest of the group. He still visits the mental rehabilitation center every month. The only exception was their captain, Nijimura, who all of the prodigies respect, even just a little. It would seem that Haizaki has yet to learn that lesson.

What irked the known prodigies even more was the fact that Haizaki was still able to form a sort of friendship with Kuroko. Kuroko was the only one who can make Haizaki listen and behave. Even Nijimura and Akashi had to resort to threats and sometimes fights for him to behave. Kuroko also helps Haizaki out a lot and would always try to include him in their group. The rest really didn't like that and many noticed.

Therefore, it really can't be called a surprise when Aomine and Haizaki got into a fist fight with each other during one practice. Both Nijimura and Akashi had stepped out for a while because of some business with the coaches and Kuroko and Midorima were off helping at library. Aomine won the fight, just barely, by a swing at the head, knocking Haizaki out, but both had sustained many bruises and were bleeding a bit. Momoi had immediately ran to get Nijimura when Kuroko came in and saw what had happened. By this time Aomine had also collapsed onto the ground. Kuroko only froze for a second before asking Midorima, who was next to him, to hurry and get the nurse. He got the first aid kit on the wall for emergencies and went over to the two. He opened the box and started to clean their wounds, starting with Haizaki, who was the worst of the two.

Everyone didn't dare to make a sound as they watched the pale, blue-haired boy. Even though he seemed calm, a dark aura seemed to flow off him in waves. Midorima arrived back with the nurse and she helped the two boys out of the gym to the nurse office. Nijimura and Akashi finally arrived. Both possessed a dark expression as they demanded what had happened. Momoi shakenly explained, "Haizaki was threatening and mocking some of the other first strings and a few second strings when Aomine tried to get him to stop and the next thing I know, both were in a full out fight."

Nijimura frowned while Akashi watched Kuroko's reaction to this information. Kuroko was currently sitting on the floor, the first aid kit laid next to him, and had a blank expression. Finally he turned over to the first strings and second strings off to the side and asked, "What exactly did you say or do to him?"

Hearing Kuroko's question, the first and second stringers gave an indignant reply, "We didn't do or say anything to him. We were just practicing like we're told –"

"That's not it!" someone shouted. Everyone turned to look at a young boy who blushed at the attention. "They were saying that they should sabotage some of the regulars so that they can replace them." The boy mumbled, looking down at the gym floor.

"Why you little-!" one of the first stringer yelled but was cut off when Nijimura said, "Enough!"

When all the attention turned to him, Nijimura said, "I'll take care of explaining this to the coaches, for now, clean up the mess. I guess we'll have to end practice for now. Everyone involved please stay and Kuroko," Kuroko looked up at Nijimura when he said his name, "you can go see how Haizaki and Aomine are doing. Don't worry, I'll make sure they don't get into too much trouble for this. It was a misunderstanding."

Kuroko nodded and hurried out of the gym. He didn't get why everyone seemed to dislike Haizaki so much. Sure he was a bit temperamental but he knows his limits most of the time. Usually, the worse he would do is threaten someone. He likes basketball even though he never appeared seriously about it. If he didn't like it even just a bit, Kuroko doubt he would have been able to convince him to go to practice.

As Kuroko entered the nurse office, he saw that Aomine was completely conscious once more. He turned toward the Kuroko and gave a small smile, "Hey, Tetsu." he said.

"Hello, Aomine-kun." Kuroko replied softly.

He sat down next to the bed and the two went into an uncomfortable silence. Neither knowing what to say to the other. Kuroko finally had enough and said, "You shouldn't have lost your temper like that, Aomine-kun. Haizaki was merely trying to stop the others from hurting us."

"What?" Aomine asked in disbelief.

"The students he threatened were talking about sabotaging us in order to become regulars." Kuroko explained calmly, "What exactly did you think happened?"

Aomine's eyebrows furrowed in annoyance, "When I asked what happened, they said that he was threatening them for no reason. That Haizaki didn't help his situation when he just laughed and said that we were naïve and foolish to think that everyone would enjoy basketball and that you…" at this, Aomine trailed off, once again fuming in anger.

Kuroko sighed and finished his sentence, "is an idiot for trying to 'help' him, right?"

Aomine looked at him in surprise and Kuroko continued, "Haizaki is like that. He may not seem like it, but he actually cares for this team and basketball. He just doesn't show it a lot. Personally, I think he is even more of a tsundere than Midorima-kun." At the last part, Kuroko sighed in annoyance, "It's really troublesome dealing with him. He acts so childish at times."

Aomine looked stunned at what Kuroko said. He had never thought that Haizaki was someone who was similar to Midorima, not even once. Well that sure clears up a lot. Still, even if he has an excuse, it doesn't really make what he did, right.

As if reading his thoughts, Kuroko stood up and said, "I know it doesn't justify what he does, but I hope you'll try to tolerate it and get him to behave better without using violence. He may seem tough but I think he's a big softy on the inside." Kuroko gave a small smile, "Now then, do you want to head home?"

Aomine got up from the bed with a small smile. They will deal with everything tomorrow and headed out. Kuroko followed him but not before turning and said, "I hope to see you tomorrow at practice, Haizaki-kun."

Behind the curtains on the furthest bed near the window, the silver-haired boy raised an arm to cover his eyes. "Tch," he grunted, "stop trying to make me look like a good guy, Kuroko."

Akashi arrived at his house that night and headed straight for his room. His father wouldn't be happy that he hadn't relayed what had happened that day to him but for once he could care less. As he laid on his bed, he place a hand over his left eye. 'He' seemed to be restless lately, especially with the appearance of Haizaki. Akashi can almost hear 'him' as 'he' sneered, "How pathetic. You are way too lenient with those below you. If you continue like this, they'll leave you behind. Then where would you be? Back to the lonely boy that is a mere puppet to your father. Let me out and I'll make sure they'll never leave. I'll show them your power. Wasn't that why you created me?"

"No." Akashi mumbled back, "You are a weakness to me but even you can't tell me what to do. After all, I am never wrong and therefore, I am absolute."

'He' quieted after that.

In an apartment around the center of Tokyo, Nijimura thoughtfully looked down at all the notes he had taken. The particular page he was studying had Akashi and Kuroko's pictures. Placing the page down, he said softly, "Now then, I wonder which I should choose?"


	4. Chapter 4

**It's the weekend again and here is chapter 4! I hope everyone will enjoy this. Truthfully, I never though I'll get this far or that I'll get the number of readers that I have received. I will continue on with all my stories so please continue to read and review to help me improve. I decided to spice things up a bit and move along. I hope I'm not moving too fast. What do you think?**

 **As always, Kuroko no Basuke and its characters belong to Tadatoshi Fujimaki-san. Thank you!**

Chapter 4

After the incident with Haizaki, the five prodigies went on with their routine and did their best to avoid Haizaki. Haizaki seemed to not care and rarely was seen. The few times he had appeared was to talk to Kuroko before disappearing again. He stopped skipping practice, though, and hadn't got into a fight in quite a while. Therefore, the basketball team entered a while of peace for everyone.

The spring turned into fall and the falling cherry blossoms had turned into golden-brown leaves. The days were getting shorter and the temperature was cooler. Kuroko had been in the basketball team for two month already and had enjoyed every moment of it. Everyone had tried their best in the small number of matches they had got to play, as even though they were on the benches, there were still the third and second year regulars. When they did play, though, the first year prodigies dominated the game with their team work and spectacular plays. Rumors quickly spread as the six were given the title of the 'Generation of Miracles'. They never cared for the title, after all, they only played because they loved basketball, no matter how much some of them might deny it.

Kuroko, not being one to dominate a game, found a partner in Aomine, who was given the position of the ace. The two of them coordinated the best and completely took the other teams, even their own teammates at times, by surprise. Kise had pouted many times and complained that Kuroko never passed a lot to him. Midorima had shut him up for a while when he started a lecture on shadows and lights. After that, Kise had started to challenge Aomine every chance he got, and a rivalry to be Kuroko's 'light' formed albeit rather one-sidedly as Aomine won every time.

It wasn't just Kise who was jealous of Aomine's closeness with Kuroko, though. Everyone in the Generation of Miracles had developed something similar to a small crush for the small boy.

Midorima sighed as he sat in the classroom. He wasn't one to have his mind wander off but he just can't seem to concentrate on the teacher's monotone lecture today. His thoughts wondered on to the quiet pale-blue haired boy sitting across the room. Of everyone, Midorima got along best with Kuroko outside of basketball. Midorima enjoyed the peacefulness when the two were alone in the library. They would rarely get these quiet moments as they were usually surrounded by two loud idiots and a giant, candy-loving baby. Of those times, the two would exchange their views on books they've read and recommend new books to each other. Sometimes, Kuroko would ask about the horoscopes and Midorima would give him his lucky item shall he happen to have it. The two had avoided the subject of basketball as much as they can in their small talks, though. For some reason, even though they had gotten along in everything else, they always ended up arguing when it came to basketball.

 _It was weird_ , Midorima decided, _Kuroko and I got along in many things. Yet we just can't see eye to eye when it came to the one thing that had caused us to meet._

Midorima didn't exactly hate Kuroko's style of basketball. In fact, he respected it and had enjoyed watching it. What he hated was seeing that Kuroko seemed to think very little of himself when it came to basketball. It was worrisome considering how little of a presence he already has. On the court, it became even easier for him to be injured if he didn't pay attention to what was happening. Kuroko had ended up with a nose bleed the first time he had played in a real match because a player on the opposite team had accidently bumped into him. Of course, he was no better off the court. Midorima had almost pulled his hair out every time Kuroko had almost gotten beat up because he would go off and bluntly voice his dislike about bullies, rebels, and etcetera. Really, he was so worrisome Midorima can't help but be overprotective.

Another reason he was always worried was because Kuroko is surrounded by idiots who might hurt him, no matter how unintentional. Aomine was not known to be considerate of others and spoke his mind like Kuroo. Unlike Kuroko, he didn't know when to stop. Really, what did Kuroko see in Aomine to make him his partner is a mystery. Kise was always hanging onto Kuroko like a leech and never paid attention to others as he yapped on and on about how Kuroko should chose him over Aomine. Murasakibara can literally crush Kuroko someday. He also happened to like food and willingly takes them from Kuroko when offered. It didn't help that Kuroko already ate so little. Adding in the amount Murasakibara takes, it's a wonder that Kuroko can live, let alone play basketball.

The only one that Midorima enjoyed being around in the group aside from Kuroko was probably Akashi. He had known about the Akashi family from his father. The two of them would sometimes play shogi together. Even as Akashi won every time, he had said that Midorima was the only one that actually posed a challenge aside from himself. In fact, Akashi never seemed to have lost in anything in his entire life. He can get a bit terrifying at times when angered but seemed to possess a soft spot for Kuroko like everyone in their group.

It irked Midorima that Aomine played the best with Kuroko but it can't be helped. If he had gone against a player like Aomine in one-on-one, he probably wouldn't have won. His plays were so erratic and unpredictable it's almost crazy. In a way, he can see why Kuroko chose Aomine as his 'light'. The stronger the light, the darker the shadow, right? As long as Aomine becomes stronger, Kuroko would also become more powerful based on what Midorima had seen. Yet, something felt off about the pair and Midorima can't help but wonder- What would happen if the light became too strong?

Midorima wasn't the first to worry, though. Akashi had watched the interactions of his teammates, especially Aomine and Kuroko. Even though he had been the first to introduce himself to him, Kuroko had become close with Aomine quickly after they had started to play. It was really troublesome that someone doesn't seem to know their place. He'll admit that it might be the best for the team, Aomine and Kuroko's double play but that doesn't mean he'll have to like it. Akashi can tell that Aomine's strength is overpowering. However, if the light is stronger than the shadow, it'll override the shadow, causing it to disappear. Therefore, he purposely made sure to have Aomine take a special training regimen during practice while he personally work with Kuroko. Even if he doesn't work with Kuroko as well as Aomine on the court, he was the only one who watches Kuroko close enough in games to help with his training and improve. Not that he needed much training anyways. It seems that Kuroko knows exactly what he has to do to improve but is just not going for it for the time being. Really, did he think that will escape Akashi's attention? He had questioned Kuroko many times over why he had held back but the answer was the same every time, "The team's not ready for my all yet."

Aomine wasn't the only one Akashi was annoyed with. The yellow-haired model had leeched onto Kuroko and it doesn't seem like he'll let go anytime soon. He would follow after Kuroko almost anywhere and it didn't help that they had homeroom together. Kise was also annoying. Whenever he opened his mouth, he would talk and talk for hours end. Akashi really hate yappy dogs. Especially the disobedient ones who just won't listen.

It wasn't like the other two are much better than the two aforementioned. Midorima is way too close to Kuroko for Akashi's liking. The two just seemed to hit it off in everything that is not basketball. Several times, Akashi would find them in the library lost in their own world. When he questioned Midorima, he would be on the defensive and deny it with all he can. Does Midorima think he, Akashi, was an idiot? He can see clearly that the two were close. Too close. He'll let it slide for now. Midorima knows his boundaries better than the other two and had not done anything Akashi hadn't approved of, yet. Plus, he makes a formidable opponent in shogi, not that he'll ever win against him.

As for Murasakibara, Akashi doesn't consider him much of a danger in the near future. Sure he seemed to love ruffling Kuroko and hang on to him not very unlike Kise. However, he was more obedient and is too much of a child to be much of a threat. He obeyed Akashi for the time being anyways so he'll let it slide for now like Midorima.

Kise wasn't one to worry about a lot. He was someone who possessed a one track mind. He gets jealous easily and have a very competitive streak. Therefore, he soon started competing with Aomine for the spot as Kuroko's 'light' on the court. Unfortunately, Kuroko didn't pick Aomine as his light for no reason and Kise has yet to win against Aomine. To Kise's immense pleasure, he had gotten along with Kuroko better than Aomine. He can't help but pout when he saw that his relationship with Kuroko was not as good as Midorima, Murasakibara, or Akashi's, though. It seemed as though he'll never connect in anything with Kuroko.

Because of these reasons, on a certain Friday in October, Kise decided to invite Kuroko on a little 'date' for the weekend. Being rather idiotic, he asked during lunch, in front of every one of his teammates.

"Ne, Kurokochi!" he had started out after finishing his lunch. Kuroko, turned to Kise and asked stoically, "What is it, Kise-kun?"

"Are you free this weekend?" Kise continued.

By this time, the others had frozen as each started to catch on to what Kise was going to ask Kuroko. Akashi had started to emit a dark aurora that many would have felt within a mile radius. Kise who only had his attention on Kuroko, didn't seem to notice that the air around him had just turned a few degrees lower. The others scooted as far away from Kise as possible. They do not feel like facing Akashi's wrath, nor do they feel kind enough to help Kise out of the hole he had dug himself into.

"I do not have anything planned if that's what you're asking." Kuroko replied. He had noticed the dark looks everyone, especially Akashi, was making at Kise, but was confused as to why. He decided to ignore it for now and pray for Kise's life later.

"Then would you like to come with me this Saturday? I want to watch a new movie that came out with Kurokochi! We can get vanilla milkshakes afterwards if you want." Kise said happily.

The others were quickly becoming ticked at Kise. How dare he bride a date with Kuroko using vanilla milkshakes? There is no way Kuroko would-

"I'll go." Kuroko interrupted their thoughts.

The others blinked in disbelief. Was it really that easy to bribe Kuroko? He never seemed to be the type to be easily bribed like this. The four prodigies mind quickly reverted to planning Kise's 'tragic' and 'unfortunate' death as the blonde whooped in joy and hugged Kuroko. He never thought Kuroko would agree like this but he certainly wasn't complaining. He stopped, though, when he heard Akashi spoke, "So you want to invite Kuroko for a little movie but not us? That is rather hurtful of you, Kise. Don't you think?"

Kise paled considerably when he saw Akashi's smiling face as well as the others dark expressions. Between you readers and me, let's just say that Kise experienced a lot of pain that day. I'll leave the rest to your imagination.

Kuroko, being innocent on the meaning behind everything, calmly went on as always that day. He still have to make the once a week phone call to Kagami that night. Tomorrow, he'll have a small outing with Kise. Well, if Kise makes it through the rest of Friday, that is.


	5. Chapter 5

**I apologize for the weird codes that appeared. I had not noticed it when I checked. For some reason, they keep appearing! I reposted Chapter 5 for now. Again I apologize!**

Chapter 5

In a large park full of many people who takes their children to play, exercise, or simply pass by, if you look carefully, you can see a young pale-blue haired boy sitting on one of the park benches. He was holding a small book and was reading diligently, unnoticed by the crowd of people around him. It was a peaceful day for the young boy but it wouldn't last.

"Kurokochi!" A voice broke through Kuroko's concentration and he looked up just in time to see a stream of yellow head for him. Using his reflexes, he quickly dodged and the yellow-haired boy crashed into the bench.

"Mou, Kurokochi that hurts! Why did you move?" Kise cried as he rubbed his forehead.

"Kise-kun would have strangled me to death had I not moved." Came Kuroko's always blunt reply.

"That's mean, Kurokochi!" Kise whined moving in to hug Kuroko again. Suddenly, a pen flew out of nowhere and embedded itself in the tree right in front of Kise. Kise froze as he stared at the pen in terror. Slowly he turned toward where the pen had appeared from and started to turn pale. Kuroko, noticing this asked, "Are you alright, Kise-kun?"

Jerking back to Kuroko, Kise gave a shaky laugh and said, "Ah, I'm fine, Kurokochi. Well, why don't we go now? The movie would start soon anyways." With that, he dragged Kuroko away from the park.

From behind a bush, a voice calmly said, "Too bad, I had to miss."

A voice from behind a tree next to the bush said, "If you were going to use my lucky item for such a task, please don't purposely miss, Akashi."

"Unfortunately, we would still need Kise for future purposes, Midorima. Don't worry, if he goes too far, I'll make sure not to miss next time."

"Seriously, he still went on with it even after everything we did. Is he an idiot?" Another voice joined the conversation.

"Nee, nee, can I just crush Kise-chin, Aka-chin?" a voice droned monotonously.

"As I have already explained, Murasakibara, Kise is still presents enough value to be kept alive for now," Akashi replied.

"Well, we should hurry and go after them. It won't do for us to take our eyes off Kise. Who knows what the idiot would do to Kuroko." Midorima said as he headed over to the tree on the other side and plucked his pen out of the bark.

Akashi smirked and said, "Well then, shall we go?"

Meanwhile, Kuroko and Kise walked slowly down the street toward the movie theatre. The whole time, Kise talked about a lot of things with Kuroko just quietly listening. As Kuroko watched Kise talking enthusiastically, he thought back to the phone conversation with Kagami. For some reason, when he had told him about the outing with Kise, Kagami had panicked and started shouting in mixed English and Japanese. Kuroko barely caught the words 'Kuroko', 'danger', and 'yellow-haired bastard' before the line was cut off. As for Ogiwara, he seemed to have been planning something as he sounded much more cheerful then usual.

"Nee, nee Kurokochi! Would you like some popcorn and drinks?" Kise interrupted Kuroko's train of thought.

Kuroko blinked and stared up. While he had been thinking, the two of them had arrived at the movie theatre and were currently standing in front of the concession stand. He stared back up at Kise, and finally spoke, "I've been wondering for a while, Kise-kun but what exactly are you wearing?"

Kise looked sheepish as he pushed the pair of sunglasses up a bit and pulled his hat down. "Well," he started, "I'm a model, Kurokochi. If I don't disguise myself, fan girls would come after me."

"I see," Kuroko said, "well then, please get me a small soda and popcorn, Kise-kun."

Kise seemed to brighten up at the command and quickly said, "Of course, Kurokochi!"

As Kise went off to the register, Kuroko gave a small sigh. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as a small flash of red, green, dark blue, and purple hair can be seen behind a poster. Quietly, he wondered exactly how long they intend to follow them. There's no way that they would think that he didn't notice them, did they?  
"This isn't good," Akashi said quietly to Midorima, "Kuroko's noticed us."

Midorima, shocked, gave a small, "Eh?"

"Well," Akashi said, "I'm not surprised. The four of us stands out like a sour thumb, especially Murasakibara." At this, he turned to look at the giant who had started munching on a maiubo.

Midorima, who was also staring at the giant said, "Where exactly did you get that, Murasakibara."

"Ah," Murasakibara started, "it was the last one left from that time at the convenience store where we celebrated our first official game."

"Hey," Aomine said, looking rather disgusted, "how long ago was that?"

"I don't know." Murasakibara answered finishing the maiubo, "I found it in my pocket. It still tastes good at least."

Aomine and Midorima both gagged a bit in disgust. They both turned to where Akashi was and said, "Hey, Akashi-"

Both blinked as Akashi wasn't there anymore. Looking over the poster, they saw the red-head buying a ticket at the booth. The three quickly hurried over and bought tickets too before the four entered the designated theatre room. It wasn't difficult to spot the bright yellow lump of hair and they were able to find a spot near enough to hear what the two were saying, but far enough to not be seen. That is, if they stay quiet.

Kise sneaked another glance over at Kuroko as the movie begun. He had been so excited to be able to spend some time with Kuroko for once without the others. Sure, he had enjoyed everyone's company but as he thought, he enjoys being alone with Kuroko the most. He watched as Kuroko watched the movie intently. It appeared that Kuroko was enjoying the movie as he seemed to radiate an aurora of excitement throughout the whole thing. Kise had specifically chosen a mystery movie because he knew Kuroko enjoyed mystery novels. Truth to be told, if you asked Kise what had happened throughout the whole movie later on, he wouldn't have been able to tell you anything about it.

Slowly, Kise tried to scoot closer to Kuroko. He really want to hug him right now because of how innocent and cute he currently looked. As he was about to place his arm around Kuroko's shoulder, a sudden chill went down his spine and he yelped as he felt something graze his arm.

"What's wrong, Kise-kun?" Kuroko asked when he had heard Kise's yelp.

"I-It's nothing, Kurokochi!" Kise quickly reassured Kuroko, "I just thought that I felt a sudden chill."

Kuroko blinked a bit in confusion and asked, "Are you cold? You can take my jacket if you want."

Kise quickly shook his head and said, "Then Kurokochi would be cold. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Kuroko gave Kise another worried look before turning back to the large screen. Kise sighed and glanced down at his arm. As he thought, a small cut was visible on his forearm. As he glanced over to the back of the seat in front of him, a small pen was innocently sticking out of the fabric. Kise's brows twitched and he glanced behind him. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary and there appeared to be no one sitting near enough to have thrown that pen. Uneasily, Kise mentally laughed. The four of them can't possibly be here, can they? Never the less, Kise didn't try to hug Kuroko for the rest of the movie.

"Well, at least he's not that much of an idiot as to try that again." Midorima whispered quietly as he pushed his glasses up.

"Of course," Akashi replied, "I'm sure by now he knows of the consequences shall he defy me."

Next to them, Murasakibara had taken up five seats as to hide himself and was crunching on some popcorn while Aomine had fallen asleep. They were soon waken up as the movie was finished and everyone started to pile out of the movie theatre. The four left after Kuroko and Kise and followed the two to the closest Maji Burger. After ordering some burgers and vanilla milkshakes, the two sat in a small booth next to the window.

As the two ate their lunch, Kise can't help but stare worriedly at Kuroko. The small boy was eating way too little for it to be healthy. He broke some of his burger off and handed it to Kuroko.

"Here Kurokochi! You should eat some more than just a vanilla milkshake." Kise said happily.

Kuroko blinked up at Kise and protested, "The milkshake is enough. I can't eat very much after all."

"No can do. You have to eat it, Kurokochi." Kise retorted.

Giving in, Kuroko slowly forced down the quarter of a burger. He pouted in annoyance but did not let it get to him. As the two ate together, Kuroko watched the people walk pass the window on the street, every one of them going to their own destinations. Suddenly, a familiar figure caught his attention and he moved up to the glass in surprise. Kise, seeing this, asked, "What's wrong, Kurokochi?"

Kuroko snapped out of his shock and schooled his face back into the emotionless expression and said, "It's nothing. I just thought that I saw someone familiar."

A booth behind them, Akashi narrowed his eyes. Whatever it was must have been important to cause such a reaction from Kuroko. He will have to look into what it was. If there was something that irked Akashi, it was not knowing what was going on, after all.

Finishing his vanilla milkshake, Kuroko stood up and said, "Kise-kun, do you mind if we end our little outing here for now? I just remembered that I have something to take care of."

Kise, though a little disappointed, said, "Eh, okay. Then I guess we'll separate here, Kurokochi."

Kuroko gave a small smile and hurried off. Kise blushed a bit at the sudden smile and gave a small, happy smile of his own. He was jerked out of his little bubble, though, when a voice suddenly said, "Kise, come. We have to quickly follow Kuroko."

Kise turned and paled considerably as he stared up into a pair of red eyes, "A-Akashichi!"

Akashi quickly said, "I'll talk to you later about the little 'outing' with Kuroko. For now, I am curious about where Kuroko is headed for exactly. Let's go."

"If Akashi says to go, we have to go, Kise." Midorima appeared at this time and said.

"Kuro-chin already left? Che, what's with him moving so much, Aka-chin. Now we have to follow him again." Murasakibara complained lazily.

"Are you sure we should follow. Tetsu did say that he just had to take care of something, right?" Aomine asked.

"Are you doubting my instincts, Aomine?" Akashi asked warningly.

Aomine gulped and shook his head and the four of them chased after Kuroko, dragging along a confused Kise. They nearly lost him a few times along the way but finally, they stopped. As they glanced around, they noticed that they had arrived at a basketball court in a small park. Kuroko stopped at the fence. Across from him, a lone figure stood with a basketball in hand. Kuroko's voice suddenly rang out on the nearly empty court, "What are you doing here in Tokyo, Ogiwara-kun?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi it's me again! Thank you to all that reviewed. Extra thanks to Verday for the piece of information on Akashi. I've never been good at remembering all the details so I apologize if not everything is accurate to the characteristics of the characters. I hope to hear more from everyone. Again, I apologize for the problem in Chapter 5. I'll try to be more careful next time.**

 **Kuroko no Basuke belongs to Tadatoshi Fujimaki-san. Thank you!**

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Chapter 6

The wind blew and some autumn leaves flew off into the blue sky as Ogiwara smiled at Kuroko.

"I came to see how you were doing, Kuroko." He said, rubbing the side of his cheek.

Kuroko blinked at him a bit before he said, "I see." Then he gave a small smile, "It's good to see you again, Ogiwara-kun."

At this Ogiwara grinned and replied with a simple, "Ah."

"What's with that nostalgic and comfortable atmosphere around those two, huh?" Aomine growled from his current hiding spot behind a bush.

"They do appear to be rather comfortable with each other don't they?" Midorima said, "That is rather unusual for Kuroko."

The rest of the group did not comment as they kept on listening to the conversation between the two good friends. Off to the side, Kise muttered about how he was kept out of everything and how his 'date' with Kuroko was ruined.

"So why exactly are you here, Ogiwara-kun?" Kuroko asked seriously.

Ogiwara looked a bit sheepish as he said, "I'm that obvious?" Then, he too fell into a dark mood, "I want to warn you of something. I went to watch a match of our team's next opponents in a practice match to see how good they were. To my surprise, _he_ was there on the opposite team during the time, and it wasn't a pretty sight."

Kuroko's eyes widened and a tint of fear can be seen in his eyes. He looked down, hiding his face behind his banes as he whispered, "Is that so?"

"Ah," Ogiwara said, "I don't think he knows where you are yet, but as basketball holds a lot of competitions with other schools, he'll probably know soon." He furrowed his brows as he asked, "What are you going to do, Kuroko?"

Kuroko's hands shook a bit as he rose his left hand to cover his left eye. He gave a shaky breathe to calm himself before replying with a soft, "I'll be fine." When he looked back up, his face was devoid of any emotions again.

"Does Kagami-kun and Himuro-kun know of this?" He asked.

Ogiwara couldn't help but smile at this. Even when he should be worried about himself, Kuroko would still think of others.

"They know." He replied, "Kagami and Himuro both are trying to find a way to come as quickly as possible. Both are worried about you, you know."

Kuroko sighed at this, "You all worry too much. I'll be fine."

Ogiwara gave a sad smile at this and closed his eyes as though in remembrance. He then looked up into the sky before saying, "Even if you were fine, we'll always worry about you, you know."

Kuroko gave another sigh before turning in the direction the five prodigies were hiding in.

"So how long exactly do you plan to stalk me, Kise-kun, Murasakibara-kun, Midorima-kun, Aomine-kun, and Akashi-kun?"

Behind their hiding places, the five gave a small jerk at being caught before they all stepped out into the open. Ogiwara blinked at the colorful array of boys in shock. Have they been listening to his and Kuroko's conversation the whole time?

"Kurokochi! How could you leave so quickly? Because of that, I suddenly got dragged by everyone else into this!" Kise complained as he tried to hug Kuroko.

Kuroko, feeling a bit bad, let Kise hug him for the time being and turned to see the others' expressions

"Oi, Kise," Aomine said, "Stop holding onto Tetsu so tightly."

"Kuro-chin, how can you just go on a date with Kise-chin? I want to take Kuro-chin out as well. We can go to the new sweet shop down in-" Murasakibara started.

"Murasakibara," Midorima said calmly, "don't bother Kuroko with such mundane things."

"Eh, but Mido-chin wants to take Kuroko out too, don't you?" Murasakibara replied.

Akashi ignored the commotion going on with his companions and walked over to Kuroko. The two stared at each other for a while before Akashi said, "You will tell me what is going on later, is that understood, Kuroko."

"Hai, Akashi-kun." Kuroko replied equally calm.

Turning to Ogiwara, Akashi asked, "So who might you be?"

Ogiwara stuttered, "Eh? Ah, I'm Ogiwara Shigehiro, Kuroko's friend from back in America. Nice to meet you."

Kise's ears perked at the statement and he turned to Kuroko and asked excitedly, "Kurokochi, you're from America?"

"I lived there for a while." Kuroko replied.

"I see." Akashi said, effectively ending the rest of that conversation.

Ogiwara watched the interactions between Kuroko's new teammates. He couldn't help but shiver as he saw the small red-head gave a small glare in his direction. It seems that he had already gotten on their bad sides although he had no idea what he had done to cause that anger. Based on what he had seen, though, they didn't seem to be bad people and Kuroko looked like he was having fun. They also appear to be rather protective of Kuroko. Maybe a bit too protective. Kuroko, as predicted, appeared oblivious to the overprotectiveness. Ogiwara decided he'll trust them for now but would have to check in with Kuroko more to make sure they don't do anything to him. Kuroko's had enough bad experiences as it is.

Glancing down, Ogiwara checked his watch and noticed the time. Unfortunately, his little reunion with Kuroko would have to be cut down.

"Kuroko," Ogiwara said, "I'll have to leave now. Make sure to take care, alright?"

Kuroko smiled to Ogiwara and said, "I told you not to worry. I hope I'll get a chance to play against your school sometimes, alright?"

"Yeah." Ogiwara grinned at the thought of playing against Kuroko. He then turned to the five weirdos who finally were all quiet for the moment, "Please take care of Kuroko. He's a stubborn one, after all."

With that, he left, grinning as Kuroko mumbled, "I'm not that bad."

Kuroko watched Ogiwara disappear before turning his attention to his five team members.

"So why exactly are you all here?" He asked emotionlessly.

"We're worried because Kuro-chin was alone with Kise-chin," Murasakibara answered for everyone, "and then, you wandered off to meet with that guy…what was his name again?"

"It's Ogiwara Shigehiro." Kuroko said and then smiled as though he remembered a very good memory, "He's a good friend of mine and also the person who led me to play basketball more seriously."

The five rising prodigies felt a wave of jealousy toward Ogiwara as they saw Kuroko's happy smile. It was usually hard for them to get any sort of emotion out of Kuroko. For Ogiwara to do it so easily, he must have been very close to him. It makes them wonder exactly how close Ogiwara's relationship with Kuroko was, and if Kuroko even considers them close friends let alone anything else.

"Nee, Kurokochi," Kise called out, "what was America like?"

"America?" Kuroko though for a moment, "I guess you could say it's less uptight then Japan. The school curriculum is less challenging. In basketball, it was fun. Everyone seems to be very nice all the time and most were fair games. Of course, just like in Japan, you would meet with those that plays dirty once in a while, but for the most part, it's not a bad place. I made a few friends, including Ogiwara-kun."

"Eh, who were your other friends, Tetsu?" Aomine couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Well, there's Himuro-san, he was like a mother hen, always looking after the rest of us. Most of the time, he is calm and gentle. If you anger him, though, he's can be quite intimidating." Kuroko paused for a bit, "Then there's Kagami-kun. He was the opposite of Himuro-san. He was easily angered and is very hot-headed. His appearance scares many people but he is actually really nice."

An idea popped into his head and he got out his cellphone and flipped through till he found the picture. Turning the phone in his hand, he showed the others.

"This is a picture of them." He said.

Midorima glanced down at the small screen curiously along with his teammates. On it was the picture of a boy with black hair that covered one of his eyes and a red-haired boy with split eyebrows. The former had a small smile while the latter had his arms around his shoulders and was grinning brightly. After a few moments, Kuroko put his cellphone back into his pocket and said, "We were all self-taught for a while. At the beginning, no matter how much I tried, I just can't seem to do anything in basketball. Then, Kagami-kun one day wondered what would happen if I used my lack of presence to my advantage, and I discovered my misdirection style. When we finally found a teacher, Alex-san, she helped me improve more from there, and basketball became even more exciting."

It was the first time the five friends had heard details on Kuroko's life before middle school. Therefore, they listened attentively to Kuroko's experience in America. For them, it was a bit difficult to imagine Kuroko out of Japan and away from Teiko. They had taken for granted that Kuroko had become a part of their life and would always be there. Hearing about his time with his other friends, they couldn't help but feel left out from the carefree life Kuroko had in America.

Kuroko noted that the sky had started to turn a dark blue shade and said, "I think we should part here and head home. It's getting late."

"I'll walk you home, Kuroko." Akashi said immediately.

As the rest lived in another direction, they couldn't protest about the arrangement and sulkily went home. Kuroko and Akashi walked home in silence. Kuroko sneaked a glance or two at Akashi as the silence continued for a long time. Finally, they arrived at Kuroko's home. As Kuroko opened the door, Akashi said, "I'll see you tomorrow, Tetsuya."

Kuroko froze for a minute or two. When he finally turned around, Akashi had already left. Shakenly, he went inside. He couldn't help but wonder if he had heard correctly. Akashi never called him 'Tetsuya' nor had his voice ever sounded so cold. For a fleeting moment, Kuroko entertained the thought that it wasn't Akashi. He shook the thought off quickly, though, and decided to forget about it but the nagging feeling stayed with him the whole night.

* * *

Akashi panted as he stared into his bathroom mirror. For a moment back there with Kuroko, he had let his guard down and _he_ took over for a few moments. Kuroko definitely noticed with the way he had frozen as _he_ called his name.

Akashi gritted his teeth as he said softly, "What do you intend to do this time?"

Deep in his consciousness _he_ replied, "Don't worry. I'm just making sure that they'll never leave you again. My orders are absolute. Not even 'I' can disobey it."

Akashi gave a weak smirk at this, "We'll see. However, there's no way I'll lose, even to 'myself'."

"Resistance is futile," _he_ said, "but I'll enjoy seeing you crumble till you'll beg for me to take over, for now. You don't really think that they wouldn't leave you someday, right?"

Then, _he_ finally stopped insisting to come out but his last words remained in the depth of Akashi's mind as he sank down onto the floor in exhaustion. It served as another tear in what little that remained in his sanity. Yet, Akashi still smiled and said, "No matter. I won't let you have your way. The words you said goes both ways, after all. I am absolute and therefore, I'll never lose." He repeated, "Not even to myself."


	7. Chapter 7

**I had time so I hurriedly and wrote this chapter! Sorry it's a little short. Also, thank you to those who reviewed. I'm glad you find my story interesting and I'll do my best to continue that interest. Please continue to give your opinions on my chapters through reviews! Also, I'm thinking of adding an OC into the story. Can you please give me your thoughts on it?**

 **Kuroko no Basuke and it's characters belongs to Tadatoshi Fujimaki-san!**

Chapter 7

Nijimura watched the game that was happening intently. As always, the first year's regulars took the opponents by a storm. They easily dominated the game by a twenty point margin and the opposing team already seemed to be running out of steam. With this, it'll be their seventh win out of the current seven games they'd played. It seems though that Kuroko appeared to have something on his mind even as he played well.

After the game finished, the team split to head back home. The group of six went their way as Haizaki tagged along, much to most of their displeasure, as well as Nijimura, who happened to live along the way. Haizaki strayed to the back of the group and walked along side Kuroko and Nijimura. Once in a while, he would start a small conversation with Nijimura and Kuroko, the latter commented only a little here and there as he talked. The five others walked ahead, glancing back at Kuroko worriedly and Haizaki suspiciously. Finally, they arrived at a small restaurant and decided to head in to eat. Upon entering they split off into groups of four as that was the maximum seating at the restaurant. Kuroko took the spot next to Haizaki across from Nijimura. Akashi took the last spot at their table before anyone else could. Pouting, Kise sulkily sat next to Aomine across from Midorima and Murasakibara. They watched the table of four intently, as Kuroko seemed to give off an awkward vibe.

Kuroko fidgeted in his chair as he felt Akashi star closely at him. He had been avoiding Akashi a bit unconsciously since that night and now it felt rather awkward. Nijimura and Haizaki seemed to have noticed the tense atmosphere as neither has yet to start a conversation. The four placed their orders quickly when the waiter arrived and went back to the silence. Finally, Haizaki had enough and said, "Okay, what exactly happened. This atmosphere is ridiculously tense. Just say something already, damn it."

Nijimura instinctively piped up to scold Haizaki, "Language, Haizaki. Did you already forget what happened this morning?"

Haizaki paled and stuttered, "S-Sorry."

Kuroko gave a small smile at the two before remembering that Akashi was there. His smile dropped and he glanced at Akashi nervously. Akashi appeared calm for the most part, but his eyes seemed distracted, focused on some type of internal struggle. Kuroko thought back to that night. He had put it off but it definitely felt as though for a moment, he wasn't talking to Akashi at all. Only Akashi was there, though, so did that mean that somehow, Akashi had changed for a split second? The more he thought about it, the more confused and worried he had become. If Akashi had changed, then which was the real character of Akashi? The momentary cold one, or the warm yet stern one?

So immersed in his thoughts, he almost missed Akashi's voice calling to him.

"Kuroko," Akashi said, catching Kuroko's attention before continuing, "about that night, sorry for the slip up. Please don't worry too much about it."

Kuroko blinked at Akashi in surprise. There he goes again. Reading him like an open book even though he had hid his emotions so well and, as usual, he had tried to comfort him. Kuroko really wanted to believe what Akashi was saying with that always confident, authoritative, yet soothing voice of his. However, no matter how much he wanted to believe that everything was fine, he remained unconvinced as Akashi's voice, for the first time, had a hint of doubt.

The food arrived and everyone started to eat. The tension seemed to dissipate a bit after that. Kise and Aomine were loud and messy as they ate and Midorima scolded them many times. Murasakibara ate very little of the course and instead ordered many desserts for his fill. He was scolded for a bit by Akashi but other than that, continued his meal happily. Both Akashi and Nijimura had tried to get Kuroko to eat more but the effort was wasted as Kuroko was stubborn.

Full and satisfied, the group left the restaurant and started to split off to head home. Before Akashi left, he pulled Kuroko close for a bit and said, "If Nijimura-sempai asks you of anything, please accept it."

He then left before Kuroko can ask what he had meant. At that time, Nijimura tapped his shoulder and got his attention.

"I see Akashi noticed in the end. It can't be helped. Please come with me for a bit. I would like to talk to you, Kuroko." Nijimura said.

He gave a small smile and said, "Please play a bit of one-on-one with me. I would like it if you went all out."

"Eh?" Kuroko said as his eyes widened.

"You're holding back still, aren't you?" Nijimura said, "I'll congratulate you on hiding it well as even Akashi had yet to notice. That's probably because he's on the court with you most of the time and his attention was distracted with the whole game. I noticed, though, as I watched you intently for quite a while. So, don't hold back and go all out against me, please."

Kuroko gave a sigh before a serious expression crossed his face. It's too bad he's been found out but as Nijimura was asking so seriously, he'll do it this one time.

"Very well," Kuroko said, "then please don't hold back on me as well."

Nijimura grinned, "Of course. The one who scores ten shots first wins, is that alright?"

Kuroko gave a nod and Nijimura tossed him the ball, "You can start first." He said.

Kuroko crouched down as Nijimura got into defense position. Everything seemed to slow down as the wind blew. With a blink, Nijimura stared in shock as Kuroko disappeared from his view. He quickly turned around only to find him shoot a basket with a rather weird form. He squinted. Did the ball actually disappear when it left his hands? It was amazing. This was Kuroko's true basketball style. An unstoppable drive, an invisible shot, and accurate, strong, passes. He could really work with this.

They continued the match. It was close as Nijimura wasn't the captain for nothing. Kuroko didn't seem to fall for the same tricks twice, though, and quickly found ways to overcome whatever Nijimura threw at him. Kuroko won as his ball fell through the basket for the tenth time. Both were panting heavily as the ball bounced a bit before rolling. The final score being 10-8.

Kuroko gave small heaves as he tried to catch his breath. He turned to face Nijimura, who had righted himself already, and said, "Now that the game's over, what exactly did you want to talk to me about?"

Nijimura gave a strained smirk and said, "You noticed, huh? Well then, I'll be blunt." The smirk disappeared as Nijimura said seriously, "Please become the captain of the Teiko basketball club regulars."

Kuroko fell onto his bed after his shower. His mind was in a frenzy, still trying to process what Nijimura had said. At first, he had been surprised beyond belief. He was a shadow, why would someone like him be chosen as the captain was incomprehensible. He protested after the information sunk in, stating that Akashi would make a better candidate.

His effort was wasted as Nijimura replied, "True, when it comes to planning and ability, Akashi makes a better captain. Yet, it is precisely because of that that I didn't chose him."

"What do you mean?" Kuroko asked.

Nijimura looked down darkly, "Do you ever feel that there's something off with Akashi?"

"What do you mean, Nijimura-sempai?" Kuroko asked, denial evident in his voice.

"You noticed, right?" Nijimura asked again, picking up the denial in Kuroko's voice.

Kuroko looking away was enough to confirm Nijimura's question. He gave a sigh, "That's why I didn't chose him. In truth, if you hadn't won in the one-on-one we just had, I probably would have made Akashi captain. However, I wanted to test you first, because you're what mainly kept the group of you together."

"I'm… not really…" Kuroko begun hesitantly.

"I won't push you on the decision." Nijimura cuts off Kuroko, "I still have some time before I'll give up the position. Please just consider it for now."

"I'll… consider it." Kuroko answered.

Kuroko blinked at the white ceiling above him. He thought through everything that had happened. Even if he accepts, would the other members be willing to listen to him? They were all talented and strong-willed players. At times, he felt like he'll be swept away by their strength, unable to resist. Can he, someone who had always stayed in the shadows, keep them all together?

Kuroko tossed and turned before finally falling asleep. He'll have to consult with Kagami, Himuro, and Ogiwara tomorrow. Maybe Alex would have some good advice on what to do, too. After all, Kagami is a basketball idiot that doesn't understand such complicated things, Ogiwara is practically the same, and Himuro would never speak directly on how he feels unless he is riled up, and then he's just plain scary. He didn't really want the position, but what if it is as Nijimura had said? Would Akashi really not do for the position? Then, is he really the next best choice?

He wished he was back in America more than ever. Back to the street basketball out in the sunny courts with Kagami, Himuro, and Ogiwara. Yet the memory seems so faded. Replaced by the excitement of playing with his current teammates. The adrenaline rush as he passes to Aomine, the happiness as they win, it'll be nice if it can go on forever. True, they have yet to reach the level at which he can play all out with them, but they appeared to be so close. When he close his eyes, he can almost feel their fingertips brush against the first 'door'. If he can only get them to open the 'door', then maybe he will accept that position.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry it took so long this time! I didn't get a long enough break to type last week so I didn't update. As usual, I hope to see many reviews and I'll do my best to update often. I like hearing your opinions so that I may improve the story.**

 **As usual, Kuroko no Basuke belongs to Tadatoshi Fujimaki. Thank you!**

* * *

Chapter 8

The team took some time off in preparation for testing the next few days. Most of them would have done fine in the exam but there were a few that the team are rather worried about, mainly Aomine and Kise. Considering they were two of their main players, it made getting them pass much more important. Unfortunately, the two possess a brain the size of a pea and just can't seem to process information like normal humans. Therefore, their exam review was left to the rest of the prodigies, mainly Akashi and Midorima, much to their annoyance.

So, on a sunny and cloudless Saturday morning, when the weather is perfect for outdoor activities, Aomine and Kise arrived at the local library with Momoi tagging along. Inside, the lights were dimmed and silence reigned throughout the whole place. The two quickly headed to their destination: a small, private, study room. The two had dreaded the meeting for quite some time and both were sweating a bit.

Upon entering, they were greeted by their _dear_ teammates who have arrived before them. Sitting quietly on one end of the table are, in order, Midorima, Akashi, and Kuroko. On the other end, Murasakibara already occupied one seat but the other two were empty. The scene appeared serene and normal, but Aomine and Kise instantly paled as they glanced at Akashi. He sat in between Kuroko and Midorima, _smiling_ at the two, not to mention that he emitted a very dark aurora.

"Aomine, Kise, you're late." He said calmly as Aomine and Kise trembled. "I'm already taking time out of my schedule to help you yet you dare to be late. Ah, Momoi, you're here as well. Very well," Akashi took out a list of books and said, "please find these books for me."

Momoi quickly left as the air got colder. Aomine and Kise started to inch far away from Akashi, really wishing they can go with Momoi at the moment. Luckily, Kuroko saved them as he glanced up from a book he was reading and said, "Akashi-kun, let's just get started for now. I have a feeling it'll take a while."

Akashi seemed to comply and Aomine and Kise breathed a sigh of relief. It was short-lived as Akashi smiled again and said, "Well then, let's get started. I'm sure by the time we finished, you should be able to pass with flying colors. If you don't, well, I'm sure you know what I mean."

Aomine and Kise trembled once again as they stared in terror at Akashi. Both possessed one thought in mind, _"What have we got ourselves into?"_

Momoi came back with a pile of thick textbooks. Aomine and Kise stared at the stack in disbelief. The two gaped even more when Momoi said cheerily, "I got the ones for history, so you can start and not wait for the others. Don't worry, I'll go get them now!"

A few hours later, as the sun reached its peak, inside the library, two people had their heads rested on the table, refusing to move. Books lay scattered all around with papers for working out the problems. They had just endured a hard drilling on history and Japanese and already, their brains were fried. The others in the rooms fared a bit better, but it appeared the green-head had almost reached his limit patience-wise. Akashi, seeing this, said, "Let's stop here for now and head to lunch. I think we made some progress but it's not going as fast as I would like. Therefore, after lunch, we'll work twice as hard in studying English and science, alright?"

"Hai." Aomine and Kise grunted glumly.

"Where are we headed for lunch?" Kuroko asked.

The group had a little argument about the location before deciding on Maji Burger. Midorima complained for a bit on how fast foods are unhealthy but stopped after Akashi said he would like to try the food. To the rests' embarrassment, many other costumers stared in disbelief as Aomine bought a whole pile of burgers. Midorima and Akashi fretted over Kuroko when they saw he only bought a vanilla milkshake and both forcefully fed Kuroko half a burger.

The seven of them all ate their lunch together happily with small arguments here and there. Anyone who sees them would immediately guess that they were good friends. The six probably have become really close over the time unknowingly even as they still knew very little of each other's backgrounds. To them, it didn't matter. They connected through one sport that all of them love, basketball.

Around one, the seven were back in the library working on English grammar. This was mostly left to Akashi and Kuroko as Midorima needed some rest still. The vice-captain and the shadow went through verbs, nouns, and many others thoroughly, making sure the two idiots and the lazy giant had them memorized no matter what. Murasakibara might not be as bad as Aomine and Kise, but he's close enough to failing for them to be worried as well. With him, though, the two used sweets and snacks to get him to remember the words.

Kuroko took a rest and Midorima replaced him as they reached the final subject, science. By now, the sun had started to set and dinnertime approached. Momoi left early as she had things to do at home. Akashi refused to let anyone else leave until they finished the final subject, though. The threat did help give Aomine and Kise a boost of initiative as the two continued to get pounded with extra knowledge.

After many trials and tribulations, they finally wrapped up the intense study session. Exhausted both physically and mentally, the group cleaned up and walked home. As they walked, Kuroko was a bit worried. He was glad to have been able to help his friends but since he got so caught up in the moment, he totally forgot to study himself. Although he was great a Japanese and English, which he perfected in America, his other subjects' scores are like a roller coaster.

Suddenly, a pencil appeared in his line of sight and he blinked at it in surprise. He followed the hand holding the pencil up until he reached the face of Midorima. Midorima was glancing away from him and, if you look close enough, you'll see a tint of pink that graced his cheeks. Of course, Kuroko being Kuroko, no matter how observant he is, didn't catch the small blush in the dark.

Instead, he asked, "Midorima-kun, what's the pencil for?"

"It's my special rolling pencil. Use it to help answer questions that you don't know. Just remember you shouldn't depend on it too much. Also, be careful, it'll attack any who doesn't believe in it." Midorima said.

Kuroko stared up at him for a long time, causing Midorima to almost squirm in discomfort before delicately taking the pencil from his hand. He studied the pencil a bit before looking up at Midorima and smiled softly, "Thank you, Midorima-kun. I'll treasure it."

The small blush got stronger and Midorima coughed to hide it. The moment was ruined though when Kise shouted, "Ah! Midorimachi, you had such a pencil! Then let me have one too please!"

A vein popped on Midorima's head and he shouted, "I only had two. As if I'll give one of them to you who doesn't even try hard in studying."

"Eh! That's not fair!" Kise complained. He stopped when Akashi gave him looked at him warningly, and quieted down to small grumbles.

Meanwhile, Murasakibara caught up to Midorima and said in, "Mido-chin's rather sly, eh? You received a smile from Kuro-chin."

"Be quiet, Murasakibara." Midorima told Murasakibara. Truthfully, he was rather happy that he was able to make Kuroko smile even just a little. He'll never admit that out loud, though.

The group split off and went home after bidding farewells to each other. Aomine and Kuroko headed together for a bit longer than the others. Aomine looked over at the pencil Midorima gave Kuroko as he still had it in his hands. He had been silent for the most part after Midorima gave the pencil to Kuroko for he was surprised by the smile Kuroko showed. The smile made him feel happy yet insecure at the same time. Out of all of them, he was closest to Kuroko when it came to basketball because he worked best with him so he became his 'light'. Yet it is precisely because of that that he was the complete opposite of Kuroko. While Kuroko loved books, Aomine hated them. While Kuroko was quiet and polite with a weak presence, Aomine was loud and rude, attracting plenty of attention.

"Aomine-kun, what's wrong?" Kuroko's words drew Aomine out from his thoughts.

"Ah, it's nothing Tetsu." Aomine said. Suddenly a thought stroke him and he said, "Hey Tetsu, I've been thinking. You're way too polite. You know you can call me by my first name now right?"

"Eh," Kuroko said, "but I'm not comfortable with it."

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it if you start doing it!" Aomine dismissed Kuroko's excuse.

Kuroko pouted a bit but reluctantly stuttered, "I'll try, D-Daiki-kun." A bit of pink tinted Kuroko's cheeks as he felt rather embarrassed about it.

Aomine swore his heart just skipped a beat and felt his face heat up. He immediately turned his face away from Kuroko to hide his cheeks. He didn't need to though, as his dark skin luckily covered his blush.

"Y-You know what?" Aomine stated, "Never mind. I don't think I can take you calling my first name too much." He walked a bit quicker so he was in front of Kuroko.

"Eh?" Kuroko wondered, staring at Aomine's back. Well, if he changed his mind, Kuroko doesn't mind. He'll probably never be comfortable enough to call anyone outside of family by their first names. However, he felt weird calling Aomine by his first name. In fact, he could swear he felt his heart beat faster. Kuroko wondered if he was coming down with some sort of sickness but decided to ignore it for now.

Finally Kuroko and Aomine parted ways. Each arriving safely in their home, not knowing that they had stirred something in the other's heart.

* * *

"Is that all, sir?" a mover asked his employer, placing down the last cardboard box.

A tall boy with light-brown hair and vibrant green eyes smiled at the mover politely and said, "Yes, thank you for your help. I wish you a good day."

The mover tipped his hat to the boy and got back into the car with his partner and drove away. The boy watched the truck turn at the intersection and disappeared before heading inside his new house. He glanced around at the boxes that laid on the ground, opening one and taking out a small folder. Inside, it held all the information on a certain light-blue haired boy. Opening the folder, the boy glanced over the information again. The name of the school, Teiko, was circled in red.

The brown-haired boy smirked darkly and whispered, "I've finally found you, Tetsuya. Don't worry, we'll meet soon and I'll make sure you won't escape again."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 is here! I'm slowly building up the story but it's getting there so please be patient with me. As for some of the things mentioned in the story, I apologize if anything is not accurate as I used the internet for reference. As always, I hope to receive reviews from you all! I actually read the reviews and take your opinions into consideration for the next chapter so please leave a comment. Thank you very much!**

 **Kuroko no Basuke belongs to Fujimaki Tadatoshi-san!**

* * *

Chapter 9

To the great relief of the seven prodigies, the great surprise of the teachers, and to the disappointment of some of the first stringers who had wanted to play in the next match, Aomine and Kise were able to pass with an average grade on the test. Kise wasn't as slow as Aomine, he just doesn't like to put in an effort into learning, a bit like Murasakibara. Of course, the fact that Akashi might have killed them in the most painful way had they not passed served as a strong motivation. Talking about Akashi, as expected, he was ranked first on the test out of the whole grade, not missing a single question with Midorima following in a close second. Surprisingly, Kuroko was ranked seventh. When asked how, he replied that somehow, all the preparations for Aomine and Kise seemed to have mostly helped him instead. Along with the pencil Midorima gave him, which was surprisingly useful, much to the terror of the others, he passed quite easily. Murasakibara passed, so let's leave it at that.

Following the test, the first year team grabbed onto victory in the finals, as they've all improved one way or another and once again, Teiko came out on top, securing their place for the winter games. Kuroko received a message from Ogiwara that his team had also secured a spot in the upcoming games that winter as well, and that he looks forward to meeting on the court again. To this, Kuroko gave a small smile and replied that he shared the same sentiments.

The Teiko basketball team remained diligent as they prepared for the upcoming games. Kuroko enjoyed the trainings even as he failed to keep up at times. However, Nijimura had pushed for him to make a decision soon. Apparently, his grandfather had gotten worse and he would like to step down soon after the winter games. Yet, Kuroko still was indecisive, unconfident that he can be a good captain with his lack of leading experience. In the end, a he must reach a decision, and his motivation, surprisingly, came from someone he had expected as a rival for the unwanted position.

During practice when the team took a break, Kuroko became deep in thought over the issue of being captain once again. He remained in such a state, that, he didn't notice when Akashi sat down next to him. He snapped out of it, though, when Akashi tapped his shoulder.

Turning, he looked at him, "Yes, Akashi-kun?"

Akashi looked at him for a while, making Kuroko feel as though he was looking straight into his soul, reading his every thought and secret. Finally, he said, "Why are you still unsure of? I told you to take the offer, didn't I?"

"Eh?" Kuroko blurted out in surprise as he stared at Akashi.

Akashi took a drink from his water bottle before placing it down and getting up. He looked at Kuroko again and said, "Sometimes, you can be quite slow, Kuroko. Take the offer Nijimura gave and become the captain. Don't worry too much about what'll happen afterwards. Midorima and I will help you if you run into trouble."

With that, Akashi walked back to the court, leaving Kuroko staring at his back in surprise. Sure, Kuroko had heard Akashi tell him to take the offer that night, but he thought that maybe he had heard wrong. Even with Nijimura being the captain, Akashi always seemed to do whatever he pleases. No one could complain about him, though, as he always seemed to do the right thing for the team. Many thought Nijimura would choose him as captain, Kuroko thought so too until that night. Akashi just gave off the aurora of a leader, someone who never bows down to another.

Needless to say, Kuroko respects Akashi a lot. Therefore, he finally caved in when Akashi pushed him to take the spot as the captain as well. After practice, he stayed back and waited to speak with Nijimura, telling the rest of the group to head on home without him. They looked at him a bit worriedly since they've all noticed that Kuroko appeared troubled by something, but left the gymnasium without complaints.

Nijimura finished talking with the head coach before coming out of the office. To his surprise, he was greeted by Kuroko standing in front of him, determination burned brightly in his eyes. Kuroko looked at him for a while before finally saying in his polite voice, "I decided to take your offer, Nijimura-sempai."

Nijimura couldn't help but let a smile of satisfaction grace upon his face. With this, the basketball club won't be his responsibility much longer.

* * *

Kuroko sighed in relief when he stepped outside the school doors and breathed in the chilly late autumn air. He felt refreshed, as though a great weight had been lifted by accepting the offer. The more he thought about it, the more excited he was for his new role. Nijimura had stated that he'll take over after the winter games. Giving him some time to plan for the new school year in spring. He'll have to ask Akashi, Midorima, and Momoi for advice on how to go about his upcoming role as Aomine and Kise have no interest or experience in analyzing and preparing a training menu. Himuro and Alex would be able to help as well but Kagami and Ogiwara are the same as Aomine and Kise, which, in other words, means absolutely useless in that area.

An energetic voice rang out in the dark, interrupting Kuroko's thoughts.

"Kurokochi! Hurry up, it's rather cold so we would like to go home quickly!" Kise cried out, disturbing the quiet atmosphere.

"Kise, quiet down, you'll annoy the people who live near here." Midorima scolding followed right after.

Kuroko hurried over to see that everyone had waited for him. He stared at them all before he said, "Why did you wait? Didn't I tell you to go on ahead as I'll take a while?"

Aomine rubbed his cheek a bit and replied, "Well, everyone were worried and decided to wait for you, Tetsu. You know, you were acting weird the past few days."

"Eh?"

"Kuro-chin, are you sick? Maybe you should rest for a few days. I can take care of you. Ah, I've got a few new vanilla flavored treats, would you like some? Maybe it'll make you feel better." Murasakibara said through his munching.

"Tetsu-kun's sick? That won't do! We should get you home quickly! Don't worry, I'll cook for you!" Momoi exclaimed.

"You'll kill him with your cooking, Satsuki." Aomine mumbled.

"WHAT WAS THAT, DAI-CHAN!?" Momoi screamed at Aomine.

Kuroko couldn't help but smile as the rest of the group ended up being dragged into the fight. He truly loved his new group of friends, no matter how different they all were.

"Kuroko, I see you've accepted the position Nijimura gave you." Akashi stated next to him, drawing his attention away from the noisy group.

"Hai." He stated even though Akashi didn't seem to need a reply.

"Then let me be the first to congratulate you, Kuroko." Akashi gave a small smile, reaching out a hand and gently brushed some of his hair to the side. Kuroko unconsciously leaned into the gentle motion and the two stared at each other for what felt like eternity.

"Ah, Akashichi! You're being unfair, sharing a moment with Kurokochi while none of us are watching!" Kise's voice jerked the two out of their trance.

Kuroko quickly looked away from Akashi and Akashi felt he had never wanted to kill Kise so badly before. He gave Kise a chilling smile, causing Kise to freeze, and said very calmly, "Kise, be prepared tomorrow when you come to practice, got it?"

Kise gulped and nodded, Aomine, Midorima, Momoi, and Murasakibara couldn't help but mumble, "idiot Kise/Kise-kun/Kise-chin," off to the side. Only Kise's dumb enough to interrupt Akashi.

Midorima coughed, turning Akashi's attention to him, and said, "Akashi, it's getting late. We should all head home now."

"Of course, Midorima." Akashi said, the cold aurora dissipated, causing the rest to sigh in relief.

The seven bright-haired friends headed home, arguing and laughing along the way. Momoi's voice rang out so high, it was deafening. Aomine and Kise kept fighting over Kuroko, causing Midorima to get annoyed and join in. Murasakibara and Akashi mostly watched, however, whenever one got too close to Kuroko, Murasakibara would threaten to crush him under Akashi's orders. They parted once more at the same intersection cheerfully, heading in opposite directions. Kuroko arrived in front of his home soon after, smiling happily to himself. His smile disappeared, though, when he saw that laying in front of his door was a bouquet of seven red roses with small saffron dotted around it, and yellow and purple pansies. Kuroko stared at the flowers in fear. He thought back to _him_. _He_ had loved flowers, especially their different meanings, and if Kuroko remembered correctly, seven roses means "I'm infatuated with you", yellow and purple pansies together means forget-me-not, and saffron means…" _be cautious of excessive pleasures_."

* * *

Sitting inside his new home, _he_ glanced out the window and grinned, holding a cup of tea in his hand. The boxes had disappeared as he finally had finished unpacking.

"I wonder if Tetsuya received my 'gift'." The boy chuckled to himself, calmly taking a small sip from his cup, "I've been giving him too much of a leeway this past year. I think the reminder was a good idea."

* * *

"You are pathetic, you know that right?" 'His' voice rang from with his mind.

Akashi gave a weak laugh, "What are you talking about? I'm preventing a disaster that's sure to happen if I become captain and you happen to take over. You'll certainly cause me to lose everything shall that time comes."

"Do you really think that?" 'He said mockingly, "Do you really think that as long as I'm not there, you can all stay together? Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but you're wrong. They'll leave you no matter what, it's inevitable. Feelings never lasts. If you truly don't want to be left behind, break them and control them. I'm getting tired of this game. Let _me_ out, 'Akashi'."

Grinding his teeth as he felt his surroundings blank out for a bit, Akashi replied, "I'm getting tired of this too, 'Seijūrō', but I won't let you out and ruin anything, no matter what."


	10. Chapter 10

**New Chapter! As this is chapter 10, I though I'd go with something cute for a bit and so, this one's rather relaxing and surprisingly easy to write. I'll apologize beforehand to all Akakuro, Aokuro, Midokuro, and Kikuro fans! This one's more for Mukuro fans! I'll try to write something for them in the next chapter. Also, I'm glad to hear from some of the readers. I hope you'll bare with me as I'm a freshmen in high school and can only update on weekends. Special thanks to the many who took the time to review every chapter and please continue to support me and, just out of curiosity, how would you like if I continued the story in a second part for the high school after this is done?**

 **As usual, Kuroko no Basuke belongs to Tadatoshi Fujimaki-san!**

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Chapter 10

On the base of a mountain that loomed ominously into the sky, most of the members of Teiko basketball team's first string stared in disbelief at the sight before them.

 _"We're going to die"_ went through most of their minds.

"What are you all spacing out for, hurry up and go in and get settled. Training starts tomorrow so get a good night's rest." Nijimura spoke up behind the group.

"Yes sir." The basketball team grumbled, heading inside.

"Nijimura-san, you make sure everything is prepared." Coach Sanada spoke from in front of their bus. "Also, Momoi-san, please make sure the food supplies are here."

"Yes coach!" Momoi beamed and headed to the kitchen, causing those that haven't entered the building yet to pale drastically and run after her. The team had learned after the first match just how bad, no terrible, their manager's cooking ability is. The coach knew as well, but as Momoi excelled at information gathering and training, he decided to let the boys deal with it themselves. If they don't want to eat her cooking, they could always cook for themselves.

"Yes coach." Nijimura replied, "Kuroko, come help me a bit."

Kuroko looked up to Nijimura and said, "Hai, Nijimura-sempai." He proceeded to follow Nijimura inside the hotel. The two of them engaged in a quiet conversation, tuning out those around them.

Meanwhile, five of the students observed the interaction closely.

"Hey, hasn't Tetsu gotten closer to Nijimura these past few days?" Aomine asked suspiciously narrowing his eyes on the two figures.

"Aomine, address him with –sempai at the least." Midorima scolded pushing his glasses up. "Plus, it's none of our business what is going on between those two." Contrary to his words, though, Midorima stole another glance over to the current captain and the shadow. The others sweat-dropped and thought "You're the one to talk, tsundere."

"Aomine-chi is right for once, though" Kise said, ignoring the "Hey!" from Aomine, "They've been hanging out a lot these few days, huh?"

"Ah, now that you mention it, you're right Kise-chin. Mine-chin, you've gotten smarter huh?" Murasakibara grumbled lazily as he chewed.

A tick mark appeared on Aomine's forehead and he glared at Kise and Murasakibara and scowled, "You two… want to die early, huh?"

Murasakibara merely tilted his head lazily and replied, "I take my word back, you're a hopeless idiot, Mine-chin. After all, I can crush you before you can do anything, Mine-chin."

"You-!" Aomine shouted but was interrupted by Akashi.

"Enough Aomine, stop causing a scene. Also, Murasakibara and Kise, stop provoking Aomine." He commanded calmly, affectively silencing the oncoming argument.

Midorima observed how calm Akashi appeared over Kuroko's sudden attachment to their captain. He learned very quickly that Akashi was a very dangerous person and should never be angered. He knew of the Akashi name through his father, who was a famous doctor and dealt with some rich patients. Midorima never thought he'd actually meet up with an Akashi, let alone befriend him. It's questionable at times, though whether they're actually friends or not as Akashi seems to treat them like subordinates. He like to say that aside from Kuroko, he knew Akashi pretty well. The two talked from time to time about Akashi's decisions with the captain and they played shogi once in a while during their free time. He never won once, much to his irritation, which led to him placing Akashi as what he presume others would call a rival. It's rather one-sided, though, as Akashi won whatever challenge Midorima threw at him easily.

There is one thing Midorima knew never to use to challenge Akashi, or rather someone, and that is Kuroko Tetsuya. He's never met anyone quite like Kuroko, emotionless yet not necessarily cold, weak yet strong, knowledgeable yet innocent at the same time. It made everyone who knew him feel a need to protect from the world, and Midorima being no exception, having a need to care for others since the beginning. The rest of the 'miracles' are the same, each careful to make sure no harm came to Kuroko, jealous of those that came between 'their' shadow and them. Along the way, Kuroko became the center of their group. Almost every decision revolved around him yet that didn't scare him. What scared Midorima is the fact that he's fine with it. Akashi was the same, protective and possessive of Kuroko at the same time and, much to Midorima's delight, not that he'll ever say it knowing he'll be killed instantly, Akashi's weak against Kuroko's requests. Midorima was relieved that Akashi has a weakness, making him just a little more human yet at the same time, he's irritated that an Akashi would be going for the affection of the same person as him.

Unlike previous times when Akashi would appear irritated over Kuroko getting close to another, he seemed rather calm. In fact, he appeared a bit smug, as though he knew something none of the others did. It was subtle and most would have missed the hints to the red head's emotions but Midorima's different. He's been observing Akashi ever since he known him, doing his best to decipher the calm mask he possess. Next to Kuroko, Akashi's the most confusing person Midorima has ever met.

"You know why they've been talking to each other more, don't you, Akashi?" Midorima asked Akashi suspiciously.

Akashi gave a small smirk and glanced over to the two in question and replied, "Maybe, but you'll find out soon enough, Midorima."

Midorima's eyebrow twitched in annoyance but he didn't question Akashi. The group headed inside the hotel and picked up the keys to their rooms, being the last to head in. The hotel wasn't bad, in fact, it's amazingly well equipped for basketball training and also had a great bath. The only thing that's not given is a chef that'll cook for them. Knowing how horrid Momoi's cooking would be, the captain and vice-captain created a chart on whose cooking for what days, deciding to spare them one day of rest to cook for the team, which the members were thankful for yet at the same time, fearful of how bad their teammate's cooking abilities might be as they were all boys.

As there's not enough room, the players had to share in groups of four. When the five glanced over where they would be sleeping, Aomine, Kise, and Murasakibara grumbled over how unfair it was that they had to room with each other and, of all people Haizaki, who didn't look too pleased either. To Midorima's delight, and, as he helped plan the rooming arrangements, Akashi's satisfaction, the two shared a room with each other along with Kuroko and Nijimura. The group separated, heading off to their respective rooms, placed far from each other, curtesy of Akashi who knew of Aomine and Murasakibara's loud snores somehow.

Akashi and Midorima entered the room, greeted by Nijimura and Kuroko. Both were in the middle of unpacking as the two entered.

"Ah, Akashi, Midorima, you're here. Kuroko and I have chosen our spots so please find a place for yourself. We also decided that each get one drawer space to place their usual clothes. The rest of your stuff can go in the closet over there." Nijimura said placing some of his clothes in the drawer and indicated to the closet off to the side.

All the rooms in the place were similar in placement and futons were already placed in the closet for the four of them. Akashi and Midorima nodded to Nijimura and began unpacking. Once they've finished, the four of them headed for the bath. They met up with Aomine, Kise, and Murasakibara. The three, seeing Kuroko immediately pounced on him and complained about having to sleep on opposite ends, giving a small suspicious glance over at Akashi as they talked. Akashi merely gave a rather sickening small smile, effectively causing the three to change the conversation and the group headed into the bath. They've eaten dinner already at the last town they've passed so after the bath, the group headed for bed.

Midorima, Akashi, Nijimura, and Kuroko didn't waste time over frivolous things and went to sleep, knowing fully well that tomorrow would be quite exhausting. They took out their futons and rolled them out on the floor before snuggling in. Nijimura, being the closest, turned off the lights after each of them had got into their bed.

"Good night, Nijimura-sempai, Akashi-kun, and Midorima-kun." Kuroko said groggily.

The three, hearing Kuroko, bid him good night as well before going to sleep.

Meanwhile, off on the other side of the hotel, Kise Ryouta cried to himself as he listened to Aomine, Murasakibara, and Haizaki snore.

 _"Akashi-chi, you're too cruel,"_ Kise thought as the night bore on. He definitely won't survive through a week of sleepless nights and training. With that thought, Kise cried even more.

 _"Kuroko-chi, save me!"_

Kuroko sneezed a bit and turned in his bed, but he didn't wake from his dream, and the tiny, unusual sneeze was forgotten.

The night soon turned into day as the sun rose slowly over the mountain. Kuroko woke up early. He was the first on the cooking list so he had to prepare the breakfast. Yawning he went to the sinks and cleaned himself. Patiently brushing out his rather ridiculous bedhead. He met up with Murasakibara in the kitchen, who surprisingly made it there on time albeit with a few grumbles of displeasure.

Murasakibara noticing Kuroko, brightened a bit, "Kuro-chin, good morning."

"Good morning, Murasakibara-kun." Kuroko said.

The two fell into a comfortable silence with each other as Murasakibara hummed happily while he worked. The two made the meal based on the cook book the members brought to guarantee at least an edible meal. They had decided on a Western themed breakfast, followed up by a Japanese themed lunch and dinner. Murasakibara seemed surprisingly good at cooking, probably because of all the sweets he eats, so Kuroko just helped with the batter and measuring of ingredients and making sure Murasakibara didn't eat everything he made. In Murasakibara's defense, he hasn't eaten yet and the breakfast looked so tasty that he just can't help himself.

As they were finishing Kise entered the kitchen, looking extremely tired and mumbled, "Good morning, Kuroko-chi, Murasakibara-chi."

"Good morning, Kise-kun/Kise-chin." Kuroko and Murasakibara replied.

Kise smelled the air and perked up a bit, "It smells rather good huh. I can't wait to eat what Kuroko-chi made."

"Kise-kun, I just helped with the ingredients, the actual cooking was done by Murasakibara-kun." Kuroko stated.

"Still, Kuroko-chi helped with it, so I can't wait to eat it." Kise said brightly.

Murasakibara pouted a bit as Kise broke his and Kuroko's comfortable little bubble and decided to kick Kise out the kitchen along with some plates and said, "Kise-chin, go set up the tables, you're being a distraction."

"Eh, that's mean!" Kise cried out but Murasakibara had already shut the door.

Kuroko scolded Murasakibara for the little stunt by saying, "You shouldn't kick Kise-kun out like that, Murasakibara-kun. It's impolite. If you wanted Kise-kun to help, you should have just asked him."

"Eh," Murasakibara pouted, "but I don't like him getting in the way."

* * *

Outside the doors, Kise, who was still by the door, shedding tears for himself, heard Kuroko's words and cried in his mind, _"Thank you, Kuroko-chi!_ "

* * *

Feeling a slight chill, Kuroko continued, "The way you did it is fine, though."

* * *

 _"Kuroko-chi!"_

* * *

Murasakibara glanced down at Kuroko and saw some cream that had stuck to the side of his cheek. He stared at it for a bit, causing Kuroko to question him.

"What are you doing, Murasakibara-kun?" Kuroko asked.

Murasakibara didn't answer and bent down and licked the small smudge from Kuroko's cheek. Kuroko's eyes widened in surprise as Murasakibara brought his head back up again and licked his lips. The two stared at each other for a while before Kuroko said calmly, "Please don't do such a thing again, Murasakibara-kun."

Murasakibara looked down again as he replied, "Kuro-chin tastes nice though, I want to eat Kuro-chin up."

"Still," Kuroko followed up Murasakibara's retort calmly, "it's not something that you should do. Plus, it wasn't me that tastes nice, it's the cream."

With that, Kuroko turned and grabbed a tray that's been prepared, taking it out the kitchen. Murasakibara stared at Kuroko's back and mumbled, "It's not the cream, though since I've taste tested it before and it didn't taste as yummy."

Unknown to him, a tint of pink graced Kuroko's cheeks as he walked away, carrying a tray of pancakes.

Sitting at a table patiently waiting his meal, Akashi that something had happened in the kitchen.

"It appears that even Murasakibara can't be trusted to keep to himself, huh." He thought, starting to think of ways to punish Murasakibara for whatever he did to Kuroko.


	11. Chapter 11

**SORRY! I was unable to update last week with school work piling up. Between juggling high school, student council activities, tennis, piano lessons, and art lessons, it can get overwhelming at times. I hope you'll be considerate if I don't keep up with my updates at times. As usual, please review for the chapter! This is more of a cliffhanger for the next chapter so I apologize if you hate me for this! I'll try to update by tomorrow if I finish my homework so bare with me. I'm also sorry that I'm starting to sound like Sakurai so I'll stop my rambling.**

 **A last statement: Kuroko no Basuke belongs to Tadatoshi Fujimaki!**

 **Thank you!**

* * *

Chapter 11

Breakfast went by without a hitch, although when Murasakibara and Kuroko joined the table, Akashi glared at Murasakibara for once, which is quite unusual, and the members headed out to train. Kuroko and Murasakibara stayed behind much to the envy of all the members, although some weren't just envious of Murasakibara for getting to skip practice. The two cleaned up the breakfast and rested a bit, before starting lunch. The two decided on making Asian food for lunch as breakfast consisted of Western dishes. Both weren't very talented with traditional dishes but at least it tasted alright and looked normal. During the preparation, Kuroko felt rather awkward for the most part since the event of the morning was still fresh in his mind. He glanced over at Murasakibara once in a while, quickly turning his head away whenever he accidentally catches his eyes.

As expected for everyone in Teiko, the training menu was terrifying. By the end of the morning session, the first string members felt that they can't lift a finger anymore. However, they still dragged themselves back to the cafeteria knowing that eating is important if they want energy for the afternoon. As they opened the door, they drooled as they were greeted by the sight of normal, handmade Japanese lunch. The members were so hungry they felt that they could care less what they eat at this point. Hurrying to their spots, the group quickly started their meal, thanking the heavens from above that they decided not to let Momoi cook. Aomine and Kise fought for food as both were very hungry while Midorima and Akashi sat and ate calmly and elegantly, making sure not to waste any of the food.

Finishing in the kitchen, Kuroko and Murasakibara came out to the cafeteria and headed over to their table. Akashi made room for Kuroko to sit next to him and Murasakibara ended up sitting across from Kuroko. The group sat happily with Kise and Aomine's argument in the background until Akashi noticed the amount of food that Kuroko had, which consists of one small rice ball, and said, "You aren't eating enough Kuroko, here have some of this tamagoyaki."

Kuroko blinked at Akashi before complaining, "No, thank you, Akashi-kun. I can only eat this much."

It's no use though as Akashi had already placed the tamagoyaki in his bowl. The rest of the group stared, including Kise and Aomine, who had momentarily forgotten their fight. Suddenly, as though a switch had flipped all of them went into motion.

"Hey, Tetsu, have some of the sausage. You need more meat, you know." Aomine said as he placed a sausage in Kuroko's bowl.

Kuroko tried to complain but Kise placed something in his bowl as well.

"Ne, Kurokochi," Kise followed up, "you should try this takoyaki too. You made it after all so you should at least eat some."

Midorima pushed his glasses up while picking up some fried vegetables, placed it in Kuroko's bowl as well, and said, "I got a bit too much, here, you can have some. Just having meat is not healthy either so the vegetables should be good for you."

By this point, Kuroko's completely gave up trying to convince anyone and could only stare gloomily at the amount of food that increased by a final small, round meatball, curtesy of Murasakibara. He slowly and pitifully ate the food 'given' to him. Finally, only the meatball was left on the plate. By this time, Kuroko felt very full and could only stare at the meatball as though he can will it to disappear. His efforts were in vain as the meatball remained were it was, almost mockingly. Akashi, seeing how long Kuroko stared at the final piece on his plate, finally decided to have pity on him and took the meatball. Kuroko followed the meatball to look at Akashi in disbelief.

Akashi merely smiled a bit, "You've ate more than usual already so I decided to let you go with that one."

Kuroko, embarrassed at his behavior, just mumbled a small, "Thank you."

The table became a bit silent as the four others were silently cursing Akashi in their mind. Akashi, of course, noticed and deducted just what might have caused everyone to go quiet, smirked. He calmly turned to the rest at the table, causing them to feel a chill at his stare and freeze, and said, "We really must be getting back to practice, right?" the group groaned, causing his smirk to widen. He then turned to Kuroko and said, "We'll leave now. I hope dinner would be just as pleasant, Kuroko."

"I'll do my best to please you, Akashi-kun." Kuroko said.

"Of course you will." Akashi replied slyly, reaching out and brushed Kuroko's cheek.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group grinded their teeth at the interaction, knowing Kuroko didn't mean it other than the meal. Akashi, though, definitely implied something completely different. They quickly turned away and started to clear the table, though, when they noticed the dark look Akashi sent their way.

Akashi's eyes glinted in amusement at the jealous and uncomfortable looks of his teammates. Inside him, he could almost hear 'Seijūrō' chuckle darkly. This caused him to quickly close his eyes and concentrate on pushing 'Seijūrō' away. After a few seconds, the feeling of losing control to him stopped, and Akashi gave a small sigh before reopening his eyes. He was greeted by the surprising sight of Kuroko glancing up at him with his sky-blue eyes that seems to glance into his soul.

"Are you alright, Akashi-kun?" Kuroko asked, his voice faintly laced with worry.

After the initial surprise of Kuroko's face in such a close proximity, and getting over the fact that his heart jumped a beat, Akashi smiled gently at Kuroko and said, "I'm fine, just needed to close my eyes for a few seconds, but otherwise, fine, Kuroko."

Kuroko didn't look like he believed Akashi but didn't pry any further. He merely pulled away a bit and said, "If that's it, then I won't worry." Tilting his head a bit, he added, "However, please watch your health, Akashi-kun."

Akashi felt his breath hitch at the image Kuroko gave and barely kept his composure enough to give a reassuring nod. He nearly sighed in relief as Kuroko decided to back further away turned his glance elsewhere. That was when he noticed the silent atmosphere and glanced blinked at his surroundings. Akashi saw that the rest of the group had gone completely silent, including a few in neighboring tables like Nijimura and Haizaki's and were all gaping at him and Kuroko. With Akashi and Kuroko turning back to them, they finally stopped gaping and gulped. Akashi currently sported a rather smug look, however, you can clearly tell he's only happy with Kuroko. To the rest of the group, the expression clearly translated into, "You are dead for watching what just happened."

The whole first string team can only pray that they make it through their vice-captain's wrath unscathed while Kuroko blinked in confusion.

* * *

The day soon ended after everyone finished the afternoon training and dinner. No one had much energy to do anything else and most quickly bathed and went to bed, dreading the next day. Aomine and Kise, however, went off to the now empty courts to play even though it's been such a long day. Kuroko, after finishing the clean-up of the dinner plates, hurried over to the courts, hoping to join them. Even though he was supposed to have the day off from any practice, he can't seem to go a day without holding a basketball in his hands and bouncing it down the court. When he arrived at the courts, Aomine and Kise had played through one match to twenty baskets already with Aomine as the winner, of course. They were about to start another match when Aomine noticed Kuroko standing near the gymnasium door.

"Oi, Tetsu!" Aomine shouted to him, "Come play a match with me! Kise here is completely hopeless."

Kise hearing the insult, retorted, "Don't say that, Aomine-chi! I'll beat you in the next round for sure!"

Aomine simply waved his hands casually and replied, "I'd like to see you try. No way can you ever beat me!"

"Well then," Kise, suddenly realizing something, whispered to Aomine as to not be overheard by Kuroko, "why would you ask Kuroko-chi to play? I've only seen him pass since we've started. Are you sure he can even play?"

"Exactly." Aomine whispered back, "I've never seen Tetsu shoot. I know he seem terrible at it but I really don't think someone who can pass like him can't shoot. He must be hiding some secret shooting technique from us."

"That's impossible!" Kise whispered fervently, "Although, that's a really intelligent idea, coming from Aomine-chi."

"What was that?!" Aomine shouted, returning to his normal volume because of his anger.

"Um, would you like to start, Aomine-kun?" Kuroko's voice rang out, making the two jump in surprise, having forgotten Kuroko's existence for a minute.

"What- Tetsu! Don't scare us like that!" Aomine shouted.

"Uwa, I haven't experienced that in a while," Kise said once he calmed his heartbeat, "Kuroko-chi, one of these days, you're going to give one of us a real heart-attack."

"Sorry," Kuroko said emotionlessly, "but you two are the ones that forgot about me."

Deciding to end the argument, for once, Aomine said, "Then shall we start playing, Tetsu?"

"I've been ready to play for a while now." Kuroko replied, his eyes shined with excitement.

Aomine grinned in an almost feral way, "I would like to set a rule, though."

Kuroko, confused, asked, "What is it, Aomine-kun?"

"Don't hold back this time." Aomine said.

Kuroko's eyes widened a bit before returning to normal. He bent his head down a bit as the two got into position, eyes shadowed by his banes. Aomine watched in surprise while he bounced the ball as Kuroko gave a small smile and muttered, "Even Aomine-kun noticed. I guess I'll go all out this time."

Ignoring the sudden chill he received, Aomine narrowed his eyes and charged forward, about to bypass Kuroko's defense using his unnatural pace. His eyes widened again, however, when he suddenly found himself dribbling air. He quickly spun around, cursing and preparing to steal the ball back, but he only came in sight with Kuroko already shooting the ball and making it in. Both Aomine and Kise stared at the ball which fell in shock, trying to process what had happened. When the fact that Kuroko had shot and scored finally clicked in Aomine's mind, his grin widened considerably. It's been a while since he's played against someone who posed as a challenge. Sure, Kise sometimes would come close, but it wasn't close enough. Kuroko, however, bypassed him without him even noticing, let alone react. With this, he can finally go all out.

Kise watched the game that was currently occurring in front of him in awe. He can barely follow the two's movements, which sometimes appeared to be just flashes of light and dark blue. This was nothing like his little challenges against Aomine. This, Kise decided, was a game that should never be expected of middle school students. It was beautiful, like a ballet, it was feral, like a storm, and it was bright, as though the two were far away stars. Kise can finally see just how different he was from the two in front of him. It didn't feel as though the thought caused him to become depressed. In fact, it was just the opposite. Watching the two in front of him, the way they engaged in the match, how they quickly deciphered each other's movements, cause adrenaline to rush into his head, making him twitch in excitement. He felt as though he can watch them forever and, at the same time, he felt like he'll kill for the chance to be on the court with them, feeling what they feel, playing basketball like how they're playing.

No matter how spectacular the game was, or how exciting, such a game had to come to an end. Kuroko took deep breath before giving a final burst of power, once more going around Aomine, and shot the basketball. Aomine watched as the ball fell into the hoop with a loud swish, signaling Kuroko's twentieth basket. The two stood there and panted for a moment while Kise sat in silence. The whole place was quiet before they heard a voice sound from the gymnasium door, "Well done, Kuroko."

The three turned their head to the door, coming face to face with Nijimura with Akashi, Midorima, and Murasakibara next to him.


	12. Chapter 12

**Ta-Da! Chapter 12 is here. It's early because I'll be busy tomorrow with some activities for school since it's Halloween and, while I'm at it, I wish a Happy Halloween to everyone who celebrates it. I hope everyone have fun trick-or-treating but stay safe! Thank you for the reviews for Chapter 11 and I hope this chapter would end the wait, although it probably would bring up more questions as well. I'll keep in mind to try to include more HaizakixKuroko, but I can't promise a lot since I've decided to bring Kagami and Himuro into the story more. Please keep reviewing! Sorry this chapter's rather short. Thank you for your patience!**

 **Kuroko no Basuke belongs to Tadatoshi Fujimaki.**

* * *

Chapter 12

The seven boys stood there in silence for a while, as though each were afraid of what would happen if someone spoke. Finally, for once, Kuroko couldn't take the silence anymore and spoke up softly, "Captain Nijimura, would you like to tell them the news now yourself, or should I tell them?"

"Personally," Nijimura replied, "I was hoping to have all the first string players there when I announce the news, but I guess I'll have to announce it now."

Aomine, who broke out of his trance from Kuroko's voice, wondered out loud in confusion, "What are you two talking about?"

"Well, Aomine," Nijimura answered him calmly, as though explaining to a child, "I'm talking about the fact that Kuroko would be replacing me as captain next year, if you wanted to know, that is."

Another pause, this time, less tense as most of them were busy processing the new piece of information, before Aomine, Kise, and Midorima exploded, "WHAT?!"

Murasakibara, though surprised, wasn't one to waste his energy shouting so he didn't join in with the three others. Akashi also does not behave in what he believes to be a much unsophisticated manner. Add in the fact he knew, though neither Nijimura nor Kuroko told him, which leads one to question exactly how he found out, there was no reason for Akashi to explode in surprise.

Midorima, noticing Akashi's calm appearance, immediately narrowed his eyes on him and pointed accusingly with his index finger. "You knew didn't you," He nearly growled the words, "Akashi."

Akashi smirked calmly at Midorima, deciding to ignore the rude hand gesture and tone of voice and replied, "Of course I did, Midorima. Such a thing cannot escape my attention."

Midorima continued to frown at Akashi, not liking to being taken by so much surprise as to lose his cool or kept in the dark.

"Eh! So that's why Nijimura-sempai and Kuroko-chi spent so much time together the past few days!" Kise exclaimed, glad there wasn't any deep emotions involved between the shadow and the current captain.

"Eh, ah, that's right. Why did you think we were talking about?" Kuroko wondered.

"Nothing." Kise immediately answered, not wanting to give away what he thought the two had been talking about.

"Ha…" Kuroko breathed out in confusion but he decided to let it go and didn't bug Kise any further.

"Then Kuro-chin would be Captain Kuro-chin soon?" Murasakibara asked, bringing everyone back to the discovery.

"It's the plan." Kuroko answered Murasakibara. Then, glancing at everyone he asked worriedly, "You're all fine with it, right?" Kuroko gave a small bow and continued, "I apologize for not consulting everyone before making the decision and keeping it a secret even after that."

"No need to bow like that, Kuroko-chi!" Kise waved his hands frantically, "Plus, we're not really angry about anything. It's your decision after all. In fact, we're all glad to have you as our captain." Turning to the rest of the group, Kise asked, "Right, everyone?"

"Of course," Akashi was the first to answer, "I wouldn't have let things get this far had I not approved in the first place."

Midorima followed, pushing his glasses up with his finger, "I don't really care so don't fret over us so much. Plus, compared to everyone, you probably are the best choice." Glancing over at Akashi, who suddenly had a dark glint in his eyes, looking like he wanted to say something, he hastily added, "Akashi would have done just fine as well."

"Kuro-chin as captain?" Murasakibara wondered for a bit, thinking back to the match he just saw. Had he not seen the match, he might not have approved. Sure, he usually got along with the shadow and had always liked him a lot, but the two never agreed on the best attitude to approach basketball with. They have yet to voice their opinions to each other, however, he had caught Kuroko's disapproving look once in a while when he would criticize another member. Murasakibara might not appear smart, but he's actually not as dumb as Aomine or even Kise. He knew that he and Kuroko probably would never agree when it comes to basketball. Yet, as much as he hates weak players who try so hard, he decided to make an exception of Kuroko. It seemed that was good as Kuroko had just shown that he's much stronger than he had thought. Another plus to having Kuroko around is because he smelled good, like the vanilla the shadow adores, and the boy's adorable, blank, look. Many times, Murasakibara had wondered, "Does Kuro-chin taste as good as he smells and looks?"

Murasakibara, finally coming to a decision, said, "I think I don't mind having Kuro-chin as captain."

Kuroko blinked a little at that. He thought Murasakibara might protest, seeing as he hated weak players, and completely disregards their opinions, let alone orders. Knowing this, Kuroko couldn't help but give Murasakibara a small smile, making the rest give Murasakibara a jealous glare.

"I approve too." Aomine's voice rang out, causing everyone to turn to him. He stood there rather awkwardly, having just lost to his shadow. A bit embarrassed, he gave a dry cough and continued, "If it's Tetsu, I don't mind changing the captain. That is, under one condition."

Surprised that Aomine, out of all of them, would place a price to letting him be the captain, Kuroko asked, "What is it, Aomine-kun?"

Seeing Kuroko's adorably serious and determined look, Aomine grinned, "Play with me again sometime and I promise, I won't lose next time."

Everyone blinked at him, save Akashi, before Kise gave a breath of relief and whined, "Aomine-chi, you scared us for a moment! Don't do that!"

Aomine gave a short laugh and replied, "No promises. It was definitely worth it, seeing all of your faces!"

Kuroko pouted a bit at that, glared at Aomine, and said, "Aomine-kun, you find this funny don't you? I'm hurt, I had hoped you, with your love of basketball, would take this seriously." Kuroko proceeded to turn away from Aomine and walked over to Akashi, Midorima, and Nijimura and said, "Akashi-kun, Midorima-kun, Nijimura-sempai, it's really late, we should probably go to our room now."

Amused, Akashi replied, "Of course, Tetsuya, tomorrow is going to be a long day, you should make sure you rest well." Midorima gave a curt nod of agreement, turning away to head out.

Kuroko grabbed his bag before turning and bowing to Kise and Murasakibara, purposely ignoring Aomine, he politely said, "Kise-kun, Murasakibara-kun, good night, I'll see you tomorrow."

Aomine, seeing this, said, "Hey Tetsu, sorry. Didn't think you'd take offense to that." Kuroko, still ignoring Aomine, headed out with Akashi, Midorima, and Nijimura. Kise and Murasakibara, though sad that Kuroko is already leaving waved goodbye to them. Aomine panicked, watching them all act as if he didn't exist, shouted, "Tetsu, don't you dare ignore me! I said I'm sorry alright! HEY!"

"Kuroko," Midorima, as much as it humored him to see Aomine like this, couldn't help but pity him and asked, "aren't you being too hard on Aomine?"

Akashi answered in place of Kuroko, "Let him. Aomine had overstepped his boundary, teasing Kuroko like that."

Midorima couldn't help but twitch in annoyance at the irony in Akashi's words.

"You tease us all the time, though, Akashi." He whispered under his breath, forgetting how good Akashi's hearing was.

"Midorima, what was that?" Akashi stopped and asked Midorima, smiling his "innocent" smile.

"Nothing, Akashi." Midorima responded, hurrying off to catch up with Nijimura up ahead.

Kuroko, a bit guilty, asked Akashi, "Did I go too far, maybe I should have just let it go instead of teasing Aomine-kun back."

Akashi happily replied with a rather sadistic smile, "Its fine Kuroko. Aomine will get over it. Now let's hurry."

"Alright, Akashi-kun." Kuroko replied, deciding to forget about it. Aomine's not like Kise so he wouldn't be that affected, right?

Unknown to Kuroko, Aomine had called after him the whole time he was in sight. Unfortunately, it was rather windy that night, causing his voice to fade. Once Kuroko disappeared, Aomine can only stare gloomily off into the night, muttering about how he finally made Kuroko snap. Kise and Murasakibara watched this in amusement for a while before getting bored of it. Finally, Kise, tired and a bit sympathetic to Aomine said, "Aomine-chi, stop panicking, I'm sure Kuroko-chi would get over it by tomorrow. Let's head back to our room now. I would like to get some sleep."

Unable to do anything else, Aomine followed Murasakibara and Kise back to their room gloomily. That night, he was the last to fall asleep and, even then, he mumbled on and on about how Kuroko hated him, causing one yellow-haired boy to be unable to have a restful night, again.

* * *

While Teiko rested, or, at least, most of them, under the darkness of night in Japan, across the ocean in California, a red head stared up at the bright sun and grinned. Next to him, a black-haired boy sat calmly, feeling the sea breeze rustle his hair.

"I can't wait to see Kuroko." He murmured, "It's hard to surprise him a lot, so this would be very interesting."

The black-haired boy smiled, "Of course, Taiga. Plus, we'll finally get to meet his new friends."

Kagami Taiga frowned at that, "Don't remind me, Tatsuya." He groaned, fist clenching some of the sand.

"Come on, aren't you interested that Kuroko would approve of having them as his friends so quickly even after all that?" Himuro retorted gently.

Instead of lightening the mood, though, Kagami's frown darkened. He glared a bit off into the distance and growled, "I heard from Ogiwara that he's followed Tetsuya, although neither had seen him yet." Himuro frowned as well as Kagami continued, "It's one of the reasons I want to hurry back. I swear, if that bastard does anything to Kuroko again…"

"We'll be more prepared this time, Taiga." Himuro's voice held a dark tint as an almost savage look crossed over his face, "He won't hurt Kuroko again."

* * *

Glancing at the computer which showed the information he just hacked with his green eyes, the boy cursed darkly, "Damn, and I though I'll have time to drag this out."

A Cheshire Cat-like grin crossed over his face.

"Oh well, I guess it can't be helped." He glanced over at the chessboard he had set up, the pieces placed in their starting squares. Picking up a pawn and moving it forward two squares and placing it down, he gave a dark chuckle.

Glancing out at the luminescent moon, he pondered cynically out loud, "Which flower should I give Tetsuya next. Hmm...Or maybe I should give something to one of his dear friend, starting with that clingy copycat."


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry it took so long. This story has been a roller coaster ride for me as inspiration comes on and off all the time. I hope you will enjoy this chapter and do please leave a review. I thank you for all your patience and all those who reviewed. I started another Kuroko no Basuke fic that I worked on as 'break' from this story call "Rise of an Empress" so please do try it out.**

 **Kuroko no Basuke belongs to Tadatoshi Fujimaki.**

* * *

Chapter 13

The rest of the training camp went by smoothly, and they have all improved in some way or another. Upon returning to Teiko, they kept up the training. The winter games starte, and not one of them desires to lose. In the first round, they easily won by a great margin, while the second round, they faced a little more trouble but still managed to pull through with a great difference in score.

To Kuroko's great annoyance, Aomine had started challenging him all the time to one-on-ones, causing Kise to join in, wanting to play against 'Kuroko-chi' as well. This tires him out greatly. As good as he was with his polished skills, it's taxing on his body, so he prefers not to use it too often.

Even with the fact that he did not enjoy using his skills all the time, he never refused Aomine's request for matches, much to Kise's disappointment. The rest of the team, maybe excluding Akashi, has yet to notice the subtle changes in Aomine, but Kuroko, being observant and Aomine's partner, did. Aomine, having such great amount of talent, is slowly but surely losing his interest in basketball. Kuroko had seen it happen to some in America and, in those cases, they either quit, or if they did continue, played ruthlessly, installing despair and fear in their opponents. He hoped that there might be some way to stop Aomine before he went so far, but he could only keep Aomine interested for so long. Kuroko wished that those guys could come to Japan a few years earlier, just to have them entertain Aomine instead so he can focus on his future job as a captain.

The rest, having yet to notice Aomine's change, behaved as usual, much to Kuroko's great relief. Murasakibara complained about training a lot, but still kept it up. Kise whined and clung to Kuroko a lot, resulting in double or triple the training from Akashi, much to his terror. Midorima continued to practice his shoots repeatedly, pretending to ignore everyone but couldn't help but place in a comment here or there whenever he 'happens' to hear them talking about something. Akashi, well, it's difficult to tell exactly what he's thinking, like always, but many times, Kuroko felt Akashi glance at his direction in an almost worried manner.

With everything piling up, Kuroko completely forgot that Christmas had arrived. Therefore, he was pleasantly surprised when he opened the doors to a mailman carrying four packages meant for him. Upon closer examination, the packages came from Kagami, Himuro, Ogiwara, and Alex with his Christmas presents inside. He let a smile escape when he saw the new basketball from Kagami, the picture album from Himuro, new sweatbands from Ogiwara, and a cute stuffed-toy from Alex. When he read the letter, he couldn't help but give a small chuckle as all of them told him they wouldn't mind a late Christmas present, having guessed that Kuroko forgot about Christmas. After finishing reading the letters, Kuroko glanced at the calendar, sighing in relief that he still have a few days to buy presents before Christmas Day.

On Thursday, he excused himself from practice, stating he had something that he needed to do. Nijimura relented because he saw how tired Kuroko becomes after practice these days, and wanted to let him rest anyways. So, after having permission, Kuroko hurried off from school, heading to the closest mall.

There, he easily found the yearly presents for his friends and teacher in America, having the tradition of buying them the same type of object the two years before. He, however, paused when he reached the list of the friends he made this year. He wondered what they would like for a Christmas present. As he wandered through the mall, more slowly this time he decided to try and buy them things he have in common with them. He followed Kagami's example and bought a new basketball for Aomine, the sport that made them close partners. For Murasakibara, he chose a large bag of vanilla flavored sweets, having been given many from Murasakibara throughout the year. With Midorima in mind, Kuroko bought him a book he recently found interesting, not knowing much about Midorima's other hobby, horoscopes. As he walked past a toy store, he noted a small golden retriever stuffed-toy, and Kise instantly popped up in mind. Finally, he started searching for something for Akashi. The more he considered it, the more he noticed that even with how important the redhead is, he knew very little of him. With the sky getting dark, Kuroko decided to head home for now and look out for a potential present that weekend.

On Friday, Kuroko came to practice deep in thought, gathering the attention of his friends. It was Akashi who made the move to ask him about it.

"Kuroko." He called out a bit louder as Kuroko had yet to hear him the first time. Seeing that Kuroko snapped his head up to listen, he continued, "Is there something bothering you?"

Kuroko looked a bit confusedly at Akashi for a few moment, so he clarified.

"You were absent yesterday and then today, you seem preoccupied with something." He explained.

Kuroko blinked, still trying to process Akashi's words as he just came back from his thoughts. Once the words registered he considered if he should ask Akashi what he would want. It would make things a lot easier.

Deciding to do just that he started, "Akashi-kun," seeing Akashi nod for him to continue, he asked, "what would you like as a Christmas present?"

At this the others froze as well, tuning in to the conversation. Akashi blinked at Kuroko a moment. He knew Christmas was coming soon, and did expect a present from Kuroko, but he had thought Kuroko would have already bought something by now. He thought over what he would desire for Christmas, but there is little objective desire as he can usually get all those. However, on a more sentimental value, there was something he want from the light-blue haired boy.

"Yes, Kuroko. I believe there is something you can give me." Akashi started, letting a tiny smirk grace his lips upon seeing Kuroko perk up in response.

Pausing for a moment, he continued, "Spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with me will do just fine as a present."

Silence reigned for a moment among the Teiko regulars. Finally, a voice rang out, "What the hell, Akashi!"

Surprisingly, it came from Haizaki instead of any of the Generation of Miracles, causing everyone to stare at him. Haizaki hesitated, having been cautious of the Generation of Miracles after the fight with Aomine, but he decided to throw caution to the wind this time and marched toward the two. As much as he wanted to avoid them, the fact that they all like Kuroko is obvious. To Haizaki, they are like wolves chasing prey and, no, he is not being a hypocrite. The Generation of Miracles are much more dangerous than he can ever be. Therefore, seeing that Nijimura had also froze at what Akashi said, he decided he should take the matter into his hands before anything happens to Kuroko. He got a hold on Kuroko's shoulders and said as seriously as he could, "Kuroko, if you want to spend the Christmas with anyone, you can spend it with me and Nijimura (to this, Nijimura snapped out of his trace and started protesting about getting involved), you know. If you agree to Akashi, who knows what that devil would do to you? You know how sly Akashi can be, like that time when-"

He never finished what he wanted to say as a basketball flew right into his face, causing him to fall blindly onto the floor. Kuroko, having turned his back to Akashi as he listened to Haizaki, spun his head around to see Akashi calmly meet his gaze.

"I apologize, Haizaki, my hands slipped." Akashi calmly apologized to the silver-haired boy, who now nursed a bleeding nose, "I suggest that you hurry to the nurse's office to check your nose. Should I send someone with you?"

Haizaki glared hard at Akashi, and the rest of the team almost thought that he would start retorting with his usual remarks again. They couldn't help but back away cautiously, waiting for a fight to explode between the vice-captain and the rebel.

Instead of what they expected, Haizaki gritted his teeth and answered, "No, I'll go there by myself."

Akashi ignored Haizaki's final glare as he left, turning his attention to Kuroko and asked patiently, "As I asked before the rude interruption, would you like to spend some time with me during Christmas?"

Kuroko, after witnessing what transpired between Haizaki and Akashi, felt that he could only answer with a, "Yes".

Akashi presented Kuroko with a rare smile before shifting his gaze to the rest of the team, who flinched at his attention.

"Why are all of you just standing there doing nothing?" Akashi called out to them, "Continue with practice or I'll double your training."

"Yes, sir!" Everyone cried out instinctively as they rushed back to what they had been doing. Aomine and Kise continued their one-on-one game although Kise had started shedding bucketful of tears and Aomine played a bit more tensely. Midorima returned to shooting his baskets, but actually missed one or two every now and then and Murasakibara dropped his bag of chips and did not pick it up as he went back to defending against Midorima, causing the ones around them to stare in horror and disbelief, thinking the world would end.

Akashi sighed, staring at the chaos that was supposed to be a usual training day then glanced over to the shorter teal-head who watched practice as well with a cute, confused expression on his face. He couldn't help but smirk as he turned back to look at his teammates. Another win for him, as expected.

* * *

Kuroko left practice a bit lost on what had happened. He wasn't one to worry over little things though, so he decided to forget about it for now. He was a bit worried over Haizaki's injury, having gone over to the nurse's office to check on him, only to find that Haizaki had already left. He decided that he must have been fine if he left so quickly, and decided to just ask him in the morning. Kuroko then headed home, ate a small plate of dinner, and headed to bed feeling a small nagging in his chest. For some reason, he felt that something big was coming. Whether it was good or bad, he didn't know and is unsure if he wants to find out.

* * *

Kise arrived home that night a bit down, having witnessed the acceptance of a date with Akashi from Kuroko. As he came to his door, he is surprised to see a small box placed in front of it. Curiously, he picked it up, noting the small envelope pinned to it with his name written neatly upon the front. He peeked inside the box and saw a pair of two flowers. Confused, he took them inside to show his sisters. The younger of the two older siblings stared at the flowers for a while, but finally confessed that she knew little about them. Around this time, the older one came back, and Kise bounced over to ask her. He became even more confused as his sister narrowed her eyes on the flowers for a bit before asking if he had angered someone.

After seeing his confusion, his sister sighed and said, "The cluster of small white flowers are yarrows and they mean 'I declare against you'. The yellow one is tansy, meaning 'war'." She ended her explanation, seeing that understanding dawned upon Kise's face.

"It's quite a negative couple," she continued after a while, "is there anything that goes with it that will give you an explanation?"

Kise remembering the small envelope, took it out and tore it open, quickly reading its content.

His face paled as he finished for on the note is the simple line. He quickly schooled his expression and excused himself to his room, ignoring the concerned looks his sisters gave him. After closing the doors, he read the note again, trying to think about what to do next. Kise finally decided to talk with the others tomorrow and, for the time being, ignore the implications behind the flowers and note. Many do not know it, but Kise Ryouta is not only a dense and happy-go-lucky idiot. He can almost match Akashi in intimidation when he wants to, especially if someone threatens something important to him or, in this case, tries to keep him away from it.

He stuffed the note into his bag, deciding to show the rest the note tomorrow, but maybe keeping it a secret from Kuroko, not wanting to worry the stressed shadow. After all, how would Kuroko not worry if he showed him the note that stated plainly, "Stay away from Kuroko Tetsuya, or you won't be just receiving flowers next time."


	14. Chapter 14

**I sincerely apologize for the long wait. I am still a bit unsure of how to continue this story so it's coming along really slowly. I have also had to deal with the semester tests, piano recitals, and a deadline for an artwork. Please do excuse my long absence. I also apologize for the short chapter. The next one will hopefully be longer. I hope to update sooner during the winter break to make up for lost time. I will be happy to hear from everyone through reviews.**

 **Kuroko no Basuke belongs to Fujimaki Tadatoshi.**

* * *

Chapter 14

Kise had a restless night. Therefore, when he arrived at school the next day, one can see the obvious shadows under his eyes, much to the horror of his fan girls. The rest of the basketball team noticed Kise's lack of energy as well.

"Are you alright, Kise-kun?" Kuroko worriedly questioned Kise at the beginning of practice.

"Eh?" Kise took a minute before Kuroko's question registered into his mind. He quickly gave one of his usual smiles and hopefully replied, "Kuroko-chi's worried about me?"

Kuroko blinked at him a bit with his large and round eyes before bluntly replying cruelly, "Never mind. You appear to be fine."

He walked away, ignoring Kise's cry of, "How mean, Kuroko-chi!"

Everything returned to some semblance of a normal practice after that. Well, as normal as it can be with the colorful group of prodigies.

After practice is over, the group headed home together like usual. However, while Kuroko wasn't watching, Kise quietly asked the rest of the group to stay back a bit at the crossroad to talk. Hearing the seriousness in Kise's voice, everyone nodded their consent. Once they have arrived at the crossroad, the five waved goodbye to Kuroko like usual and watched as he walked away. One they were sure Kuroko was gone, the four turned to face Kise, their expressing showed their demand for an explanation.

Kise, surprisingly solemn for once, took out the not and the flower from his bag and showed them to the rest of the group. To save time, Midorima grabbed the letter and read IR out loud for everyone to hear.

Once the note had been read, the group fell into a contemplative silence, carefully considering what the contents meant for them. Finally, Midorima asked Kise, "Why did you not want to question about this?"

Kise frowned a bit and replied truthfully, "I felt that it would burden Kuroko-chi."

"Of course." Akashi agreed with Kise for once, "We shouldn't burden Kuroko too much these days as he is very busy, right, Daiki?"

Maybe it's because of the sudden change in the way he addressed them, but at that moment, the four others standing with the redhead felt a drop in temperature around them. They all looked at Akashi cautiously and, not that they would ever admit it out loud, with a tint of fear in their eyes, as though seeing him clearly for the first time. Midorima could have sworn that, at that moment, one of Akashi's eye had turned into a golden color but he wasn't sure as Akashi quickly closed his eyes. The atmosphere loosened after that as, when Akashi reopened his eyes, both were their normal red and his posture appeared a bit more relaxed again.

Amine had narrowed his eyes at Akashi though and the group can almost feel electricity vibrate between the two.

An awkward silence fell upon the group until Kise finally cut through the tension with a nervous cough, drawing everyone's attention back to him.

"Well, what Akashi-chi said wasn't wrong. Kuroko-chi does appear very tired lately so I felt that I shouldn't worry him with such matter." Kise explained as the tension lightened further although Amine hasn't stopped glaring at Akashi.

Midorima habitually pushed his glasses up as Murasakibara clapped a bit and said, "Amazing Kise-chin. You finally proved that you're not as dumb as Mine-chin."

Kise gave a weak smile of gratitude at Murasakibara's attempt to help lessen the tension as Amine gave an indignant, "What was that?!"

"So what do you have in mind, Kise?" Midorima questioned, bringing everyone back on topic.

Kise's expression turned grave once more as he replied, "I hope everyone can pitch in to find this person. I have a very bad feeling about this, even though it seem such a small thing. Whoever did this either knows Kuroko-chi well or me very well. Therefore, if any of you see something suspicious, well…"

"We are to take action against this person." Akashi finished for Kise and he nodded in agreement. Giving a confident nod, Akashi stated, "Very well, I shall look into it a bit." The ominous feeling appeared again as Akashi's left eye gave off the eerie glow once more. An almost feral look appeared on Akashi's face as he continued, "I will not permit anyone to cause harm to Tetsuya, after all."

The chill reappeared within the four other basketball members and each were thankful the anger had not been directed at them. The group dismissed Akashi's behavior as probably something caused by his anger over the situation except one; Midorima Shintaro.

Midorima watched Akashi warily as the group bid each other goodbye, heading off to their home. He stayed and watched while the expensive transport came and picked Akashi up. It appeared as though Akashi had gone back to normal once more as he turned and nodded a farewell to Midorima. Maybe it had just been in the heat of the moment. Maybe Midorima had imagined it. He can't help but feel a foreboding feeling spread within him as he watched the vehicle Akashi rode in make a turn at the end of the street and disappear. Being a doctor's son, he has been taught the patient's symptoms in his father's hospital. He couldn't but to think back the one time he happened upon an unique patient. At first, he had thought he was normal but soon, he discovered that it was far from the case. The patient had a very unusual psychological illness. His father had told him that the counselor of the patient had thought it was borderline personality disorder at first, but he believed it to be a different illness that is similar, yet very different at the same time. Dissociative identity disorder is not a very well known subject simply because no one has yet to truly understand it and believe it's real. The patient had enormous mood swings and, whenever he returned back to normal, he did not remember what he had done during the time.

Midorima truly respected Akashi, how can he not. In fact, everyone of the small group looked up to him. He had always gave off an air of certainty. Like nothing can go wrong for him. Midorima would not have believed Akashi to be human had he not personally interacted and watched how he soften just the tiniest bit around Kuroko. The way he always watched Kuroko, as though, for the first time, he found something he is uncertain of.

It made Midorima a bit jealous. Kuroko had also looked at Akashi a bit different from the rest. In fact, compared to him, all the others appeared to have some sort of connection with Kuroko. Akashi has always been the one Kuroko relied on, Amine shares a connection as "light" and "shadow", Murasakibara always gets treated gently like a baby, and Kise had always been allowed to cling freely onto Kuroko, until the others stop him.

Even with his lack of connection to Kuroko, and the fact that their blood types mismatch, he still holds Kuroko in a very special place of his heart. Truly, he is someone special.

Akashi entered his home and quickly closed the door. A maid approached him and offered to take his bag before informing him that his father had returned and was waiting for him in the dining room. Akashi stiffened a bit at the news, his face chillingly emotionless. He quickly headed into the dining room, bowing to his father across the table. After his father gave the signal, Akashi calmly sat down in the chair directly across from his father. The two ate in a stifling silence, tension evident in the air. Finally, his father took one last sip from the wine glass and spoke, "How are your grades, Seijuro?"

Akashi unhurriedly finished his last bite before replying, "My grades are fine, Father."

"I see," another tense silence and then, "what about basketball?"

Akashi tightened his hold on the silver utensil in his hand slightly, but remained calm as he once more replied, "We have won the tournament. Everything has been going smoothly."

"Is that so?" His father pondered to himself as he watched Akashi closely.

The rest of the meal was spent in silence until Akashi finally picked up his napkin and followed the motions his father had done. Upon finishing, Akashi requested, "May I excuse myself now, father?"

Akashi's father stared at him for a moment longer before giving him a nod in consent. Before Akashi stepped out the door, though he reminded him, "Remember the requirements for playing that useless game of yours, Seijuro."

Akashi paused before calmly replying, "Of course, father."

Before his father can say anymore, Akashi had shut the door. Taking in a deep breath, Akashi walked away from the dining room. He glanced over briefly at the nearest mirror to himself. Unlike the usual bright red, his left eye had a gold glint in it and, for once, Akashi found that he didn't care.

Kuroko entered his home and sighed. He still had no idea why Kise had behaved strangely today. It worried him a bit since Kise had always been really energetic that it can get to the point of being very annoying.

"I'm back." Kuroko cried out in greeting.

A blue-haired woman stepped out from a doorway connected to the hallway and greeted Kuroko cheerfully, "Welcome back, Tetsuya. How was school today?"

Kuroko gave a reassuring smile and replied, "It has been alright, mother."

His mother gave a small pout at that. Knowing that she can't push more information out of him, she decided to comment on the second part, "I told you to stop with the formal way of addressing me. I prefer 'mom' more."

"Ah," Kuroko paused, a bit embarrassed, "I'm sorry. I'm still not comfortable with it."

His mother gave a gentle smile before sighing, "It can't be helped, I guess. You are just like your father, after all."

The two reminisced some of the family's fond memories before his mother decided to bring them back to reality as she clapped her hands and said, "Well, hurry and place your bag upstairs. Dinner is almost ready."

"Understood." Kuroko replied, heading upstairs to his room.

His mother smiled fondly at him as he disappeared up the stairs before letting her worry show upon her face. After the disastrous incident in America, her son had become even more aloof to the point that even her husband, who was similar in character to Kuroko, felt worried. She was glad that her son had started to open up again, though, and she is truly thankful that they had made the decision to move back to Japan again. The only thing that troubles her is whether this simple happiness will last.

Shaking her head to get rid of the negative thoughts, Kuroko's mother walked back to the kitchen. It doesn't matter what the future might bring. She will just have to treasure what she has now.

Placing his bag down, Kuroko hurried back down the stairs. Had he stayed, he would have heard his phone buzz, revealing a message from an unknown number. In the message are the words, "I have made my first move, Tetsuya. It's your turn now."


	15. Chapter 15

**I finished it on Christmas Day at 11:04 pm! Sorry for it being so late. I had to spend time with family. A Christmas special featuring Akashi and Kuroko's "date" with a little extra for the rest of the Generation of Miracles. Truthfully, this chapter is really rushed but please review! I know it's a little late but have a Merry Christmas everyone!**

 **Kuroko no Basuke belongs to Fujimaki Tadatoshi**

* * *

Chapter 15

It has been some days since Kuroko found the message on his phone and the horrible realization that Kise had been his target sunk in. In school, everything appeared normal as he has yet to confront Kise about it, yet it seemed like they were walking on ice. The tense atmosphere nearly caused Kuroko to forget about his promise to Akashi until the demanding boy reminded him of it. Therefore, that Saturday morning, the doorbell gave a short ring.

Hearing the doorbell, Kuroko quickly grabbed his coat and rushed downstairs. His mother had already opened the door and was currently greeting Akashi cheerfully.

Akashi exchanged greetings with her politely before noticing him and greeted, "Good morning, Kuroko."

Kuroko straightened a bit after reaching the bottom of the staircase, bowed, and greeted back, "Good morning, Akashi-kun."

Akashi gave a rare smile and patiently waited as Kuroko put on his shoes and bid his mother goodbye. The two left the house together with Kuroko's mother giving one last cheerful wave before closing the door. There was a brief pause as Kuroko took in the sight of Akashi's car and personal driver, but he quickly got over it and entered the car with Akashi. The first part of the ride remained rather silent as the two simply took a moment to enjoy each other's presence.

Finally, Kuroko broke the silence as he inquired, "Where are we going, Akashi-kun?"

Instead of answering, Akashi simply replied, "You'll see when we get there, Kuroko."

Upon arriving at their destination, Kuroko blinked in surprise.

"Um, Akashi-kun," Kuroko asked, "this is?"

"My house." Akashi informed Kuroko just as calmly.

"You mean your mansion?" Kuroko corrected.

Akashi simply replied, "Yes."

"I see." Kuroko mused, a tint of awe laced in his voice.

The two entered the mansion and a maid hurried over and bowed, asking Akashi what he required. Kuroko watched the exchange in silence, and bowed politely when Akashi notified the maid of his existence. To the maid's credit, she merely flinched when she saw Kuroko and quickly recovered from the shock.

Everything appeared expensive to Kuroko. Had he been Aomine or Kise, he's pretty sure he would have been gaping by now. Luckily for Kuroko, having seen Kagami's home, Akashi's house was not that surprising even if it is much larger than Kagami's. Factor in his almost emotionless face, he appeared perfectly calm in this situation.

Akashi led Kuroko to his room. The décor within the vast bedroom matched the theme of the rest of the house. Many times, Kuroko had pondered over what sort of place Akashi lived in, having heard rumors of how rich his family is. The room is not too far from how Kuroko imagined it. The intricate designs along the doorframe and the borders of the room complimented the dark mahogany walls. The room appeared tidy with a large bed, a sofa, a desk, and some bookshelves. A few picture frames dotted the walls with some vases and sculptures to fill space.

Indicating toward the sofa, Akashi requested, "Do please have a seat, Kuroko."

The two of them sat on the sofa and Akashi called for a maid to bring some tea. The tea arrived quickly and Akashi poured some for Kuroko.

Akashi and Kuroko drank in silence before Kuroko asked, "So why exactly are we here, Akashi-kun?"

"I was hoping to spend the morning peacefully with you if you don't mind," Akashi explained calmly, "unless there is somewhere you wish to go?"

"No." Kuroko answered.

After a while, Akashi led Kuroko to the library which caused him to light up instantly. Kuroko soon found an interesting novel and seated himself on a cushion at the window. Akashi picked up a few books as well and sat across from him. Both enjoyed the books and each other's presence as neither are very talkative. The brief thought that Midorima might have enjoyed this as well crossed Kuroko's mind for a second before he focused on the novel again. Once Kuroko finished his book, he glanced outside for a while, admiring the light snow that has started to fall.

Akashi watched Kuroko stare out the window for a few moments, a rare smile gracing his face, before he asked, "Would you like to have lunch now, Kuroko?"

Kuroko turned his attention to Akashi and replied, "It is fine by me, Akashi-kun."

Akashi gave a small smile and led him to the dining room. They sat opposite to each other at one end of the long table, and soon, a plate of what Kuroko presumed to be delicacies was placed in front of them. Looking up to Akashi, he saw that the vice-captain had already started to eat, and followed his example. While he picked slowly at the food, Kuroko glanced around the large dining room. The long table was rather intimidating when it was so empty and Kuroko added another brief wonderment into his mind as he pondered over whether Akashi and his father usually sat at opposite ends. From his brief talks with Midorima in the library, he had learned that Akashi's father was a well-known, strict, businessman. He had also been informed that Akashi's mother had passed away when he was young, although it was best not to mention anything about it.

Lunch went by quite well. The only exception being when Akashi forced Kuroko to take in a few extra bites after he had declared that he was full.

The two then returned to Akashi's bedroom where Kuroko decided to try and learn how to play shogi. Under Akashi's teaching, he quickly grasped the concept and, by the end of it, can catch Akashi off guard every few turns. Of course, Akashi did not lose to Kuroko in the chess game once so catching him off guard was considered a great feat for Kuroko.

During the games, Kuroko heard the small vibrations coming from Akashi's phone that he ignored. Seeing that Akashi did not care for it, Kuroko felt that he should not worry about it. After a while, he needed to go to the restroom and asked Akashi for the directions. Akashi gave him the information and he quickly left.

When Kuroko left, Akashi finally took his phone out and dialed the servant that had been constantly trying to reach him. The servant answered quickly after the first ring.

"Akashi-san?" The butler's voice came through the small device.

"What did you need?" Akashi quickly got to the point.

A rather loud noise came from the background, sounding suspiciously like Kise, before the servant answered, "We have found a few trespassers on the ground. When questioned, they had insisted that they are your friends."

Another sound came from the background. This time, it was a low grunt, similarly to Aomine's.

Akashi gave off a dark smirk as he replied, "They are mere acquaintances, and they do not have permission to come. Do please throw them out."

"Understood." The servant obediently replied before Akashi hung up.

Kuroko, meanwhile, faced a dilemma. He easily found the bathroom, but it appears that he had trouble finding the way back to Akashi's room. Unsure of what to do, he continued to walk down the long hallway, checking every room. He suddenly heard a shout from outside and looked out the window to see some servants dragging two people toward the gate. Kuroko narrowed his eyes a bit when he noticed that the figures appeared very familiar, but it was difficult to see through the snow and the trees so he could only shrug it off. As his hand brushed against his pocket, he perked up as he remembered that he had his phone with him. Quickly taking it out, he dialed Akashi and listened attentively to his instructions. As he walked back, he could have sworn he heard Kise's familiar call of "Kuroko-chi!" Maybe it was his imagination.

With Akashi's guidance, Kuroko managed to maneuver his way back to the room. He entered just as Akashi hung up the phone, and he looked up at Akashi, almost in a sheepish manner.

Akashi simply gave a mysterious smile as he asked, "Shall we continue our game, Kuroko?"

After a few more games of shogi, Akashi had asked if he wanted to see Yukimaru. Kuroko accepted, thinking he meant a person. Therefore, he was rather confused when Akashi had him put on his coat and shoes, and they headed outside. Upon arriving at the stable, it dawned on Kuroko that Akashi had meant a pet. Kuroko took an immediate liking to Yukimaru, and it appears the favoritism was mutual. He spent some time softly petting the white horse until Akashi told him that they should head back in as Akashi wanted to take Kuroko out for dinner.

They once again entered the car prepared outside the front doors and Kuroko watched as they drove through the busy streets of Tokyo. The sun had already set, but the street lights provided a warm glow to the cold scenery. They finally arrived to the sight of the brightly lit center. Kuroko admired the massive amount of lights strung to cover the entire walkway with an iridescent glow. Akashi let him pause to look for a bit before leading him in to a restaurant. The place looked traditional and, shall Kuroko dare to say, normal for someone like Akashi.

Seeing Kuroko's rather curious look, Akashi smiled, "I thought you would prefer a more comfortable place. The food here is not bad either."

Like Akashi said, the food was splendid. It was better than what Kuroko would usually eat when he ate at a restaurant but probably less acceptable than what he imagined Akashi might eat. Still, the dinner was enjoyable and Kuroko felt that he enjoyed it more than lunch. When the two finished, the server brought the receipt. A small argument over who shall pay for dinner settled with a compromise of each paying for half of it. Kuroko suspected that Akashi only had him pay less considering that he refused to state the actual amount of the bill. The two walked around the malls for a bit, stopping here and there to look in the shops.

Finally, Akashi decided that he should take Kuroko home for now, catching the small yawn Kuroko had stifled. Kuroko must have fell asleep somewhere along the ride home as he didn't remember much after entering the car. The only thing he knew was that he woke up the next morning to his bedroom. A small box, wrapped in red, sat on his desk.

* * *

 **Omake 1: The Case of the (Failed) Self-preservationist**

Midorima had never been one to sleep in so, technically, the call he received that morning did not interrupt anything in his schedule. However, it did prove to be a great annoyance.

"Please Midorima-chi!" the annoyance whined from the other end of the line, "Murasaki-chi already rejected because it is Akashi-chi. If you don't want to come along too, at least tell us where Akashi-chi lives!"

It might have been because of his morning drowsiness, or maybe it was the fact that he had been annoying him for more than an hour. No matter the reason, Midorima finally threw caution out the window and gave in to Kise's request with only a futile warning that Kise must not inform Akashi that he provided the information. Kise happily agreed, of course, and Midorima hung up with a sigh of relief.

"Today, Cancer is ranked third to last!" Oha Asa announced just then.

He really should get his lucky item because he'll need all the luck he can get. After all, Akashi would surely come after him with vengeance.

* * *

 **Omake 2: The Case of the Two Idiots**

"Hurry up, Aomine-chi!" Kise whispered from the other side of the wall.

"I'm coming so be patient!" Aomine whispered back reaching to the top of the large wall and pulling himself over it. Leaping down, he landed next to Kise in the bush with a loud grunt.

"Keep quiet, Aomine-chi!" Kise warned quietly.

"Yeah, yeah." Aomine dismissed him with a nonchalant wave of his hand.

The two than turned to look toward their desitnation only for their mouth to drop.

"Man," Aomine whispered with awe and annoyance, "Akashi's a lucky bastard."

Kise could only give a nod of agreement.

Unfortunately for them, before they could move, a group of servants surrounded them. On that day, Aomine vowed to never follow Kise's ideas ever again as they got dragged away.

* * *

In Midorima's room, Oha Asa gave the last reports, "In the second to last place is Gemini, and unfortunately for those that are Virgo, you are in last place today!"

* * *

 **Omake 3: The One Who Succeeded in Keeping Alive**

That Christmas, Murasakibara spent it happily with his family. He was even more elated when he recieved a text from Akashi wishing him a "Merry Christmas." It really was a good thing he did not follow along with Kise's plans.


	16. Chapter 16

**Ugh! I finally was able to find the inspiration to write this chapter. A bit late but at least I made it in time for Valentine's Day. I felt that I hadn't wrote a lot about Momoi so I decided to dedicate this chapter to her a bit. I also picked up the pace a bit so I didn't write too much details. I sincerely apologize for my long absence. I am sorry to say that I might not be updating very often during normal weeks. Luckily, Monday is President's Day so I had a longer weekend as well as no homework.**

 **I would like to emphasize the fact that I'm adding an OC into this story. I promise to write a background story for him so he'll fit in though.**

 **Also, I thank those who had reviewed and hope to hear more comments. If there is any questions, please ask away. I will do my best to answer them as long as they will not spoil the story.**

 **Finally, Kuroko no Basuke does not belong to me.**

* * *

Chapter 16

Winter break passed and the New Year season was over in a blink of an eye. The team enjoyed going to a shrine together and the festivities in the city. Soon the weather became warmer as the season slowly changed. February came around, and 'romance' hung in the air.

"T-Tetsu-kun!" Momoi cried out as she stood in front of Kuroko, determination shining in her eyes. Moving her hands quickly, she pulled out a small box she had been hiding behind her back and stuttered, "P-Please accept my Valentine chocolate!"

Kuroko blinked in surprise, "Eh?"

However, she had already ran off, leaving a trail of dust in her wake

* * *

The day had started normally enough since no one ever paid close attention to Kuroko except for the basketball team. Kuroko enjoyed a rather nice morning. He did take notice of the absence of Kise in class though, and, for a brief moment, pondered over whether Kise was sick or not. He soon forgot about his worries once the teacher started the lesson, not to think about it until lunch time.

Like usual, Kuroko went up to the rooftop where the team would meet. For some reason, Akashi had left before him as soon as the bell rang, but he assumed that it must be because he's busy. No sooner had he opened the door to the rooftop, he was greeted by the sight of a pile of chocolates that can probably rival Mt. Fuji. Surrounding the massive chocolate pile were his teammates, almost all looked rather lost at what to do.

Akashi, like usual, was the first to notice Kuroko.

"It's a good thing you're here, Kuroko." He acknowledged, giving a nod of his head.

"Akashi-kun," Kuroko greeted back politely before asking, "What is going on here."

Kise, seeing Kuroko, started to shed tears like he had just died and came back to life, "Kuroko-chi! Please help me finish all the chocolate!"

Understanding dawned on Kuroko as he deducted, "This is all Kise-kun's chocolate, huh?"

However, Aomine corrected him as he, rubbing his neck in annoyance, said, "Not quite. It's kind of a combination of all of ours."

Kise nodded in agreement as he continued to shed tears, "I would have been perfectly happy if it had all been for me. However, I just found out that Akashi-chi received more chocolate than me!" He covered his eyes with his arm as he cried, "My pride as a top model is ruined!"

"Of course I would receive the most chocolate." Akashi stated confidently, "Unfortunately, I hold a strong dislike for sweets."

"Then just toss it out." Aomine bluntly stated.

"How can you say such a cruel thing, Dai-chan!" Momoi reprimanded, "You're such an insensitive jerk!"

"Huh!" Aomine shouted back indignantly.

Momoi ignored him as she turned to Akashi, bravely pointing a finger at him as she lectured, "You must treasure each and every one of the boxes of chocolates and finish them! It's fine if you don't return their feelings, but do not treat their gifts like trash. Valentine's Day only comes once every year, after all."

Akashi narrowed his eyes a bit on Momoi, and the temperature dropped a few degrees when the door opened again.

"Ah!" Everyone turned to face Murasakibara as he cried out from the entrance, staring at the large pile of chocolate like he had just found his purpose in life. After staring at the pile for a few moments, he glanced at Akashi hopefully and asked, "Can I have it all, Aka-chin?"

With that, the problem of the massive chocolate mountain had been resolved. Much to Murasakibara and Akashi's pleasure and Momoi's miff at having been ignored.

* * *

The rest of the afternoon went by smoothly. When practice came, another pile of chocolate had made its way into Murasakibara's bottomless stomach. The team practiced like usual although a few extra jealous glares from the male population were aimed toward the first year regulars as there appeared to be a larger group of fans, all girls, watching that day.

When practice ended, Kuroko changed and packed up his stuff before waiting for the others. Soon, everyone was done and they left. When they finally stopped at the usual crossroad, it was there that Momoi had stopped Kuroko from leaving. She took a deep breath and reached into her bag, and there, in front of the Miracles, she gave the box of chocolate to Kuroko before running off in the direction of her home, completely forgetting about Aomine.

The fact that Momoi had left him by himself was far from Aomine's mind. He continued to gap at the direction Momoi had ran off into, trying to process the idea that she had become his rival for Kuroko.

Kuroko simply smiled, opening the box as he said, "Momoi-san's really considerate."

Seeing Kuroko about to eat the chocolate seemed to have snapped Aomine out of his stupor as he shouted with horror, "Do not eat it, Tetsu!" Rushing forth, he instinctively grabbed the box and threw it as far as he can with all his strength.

Kuroko frowned at Aomine and scolded, "You shouldn't do such a thing, Aomine-kun."

Unknown to Kuroko, he had barely avoided his death that day, curtsey of Aomine's quick intuition.

* * *

Much to the group's relief, Kuroko did not appear to have realized that the box of chocolate was meant as a romantic gesture, and had simply considered them as obligation gifts. Of course, he did give Momoi something in return during White Day, much to the ire of the team.

* * *

A single rose rested upon his doorstep when Kuroko finally arrived at his home, along with a small note. Kuroko's mood dropped considerably as he stared at the flower. He was unwilling to deal with this today, just when everything seemed to go so well. With an unusually cold expression, even for him, he dropped the flower and letter into the trashcan before rushing up to his room and dropped down onto his bed. Closing his eyes, the days of that terrible incident flashed through his head.

Kuroko frowned, sitting up. He reached above his bedpost and gently touched the picture of the team smiling happily after a game. "His team." He thought with pride and happiness

"They will be the same." A nagging little thought came from the deep within his mind.

"No." Kuroko softly but firmly said, "They will not be the same."

He prayed desperately that he wasn't wrong.

* * *

A year passes quickly, and as the cherry blossoms bloomed once more. Students returned to their school, ready for the new school year. Kuroko stepped through the crowd, heading to the bulletin board in hope of finding his new class. Luckily, he was saved the trip as he found his teammates coming over to him. Momoi happily stated that they would be in the same class this year along with Aomine, Midorima, and Akashi. A rather gloomy atmosphere hung over Kise as he clung to Kuroko, shedding buckets of tears at having been placed in a different class. Murasakibara looked as though he could care less as he chomped on his snacks, but he did let his hands linger on Kuroko's head for a while longer when he ruffled his hair, much to Kuroko's annoyance.

In high spirits, the students all headed to their new class. Kuroko sat contently next to Akashi and Aomine while Momoi and Midorima chose to sit behind them. The teacher came in and took roll, nearly missing Kuroko once again. Kuroko tuned the teacher out as he continued to take roll. His attention did return to the teacher when he announced, "We have a few transfer students from America this year. I hope everyone will be considerate and make them feel welcomed. Please come in."

The door opened and two figures stepped in.

For the first time since he arrived in Teiko, everyone in the class had their attention on Kuroko as he rose quickly from his seat, the chair scraping the floor as he did so, and cried out in surprise, "Kagami-kun? Himuro-kun?"

* * *

Meanwhile, in Kise and Murasakibara's class, their teacher had also stated that they had a new student. Everyone, excitedly turned to peak at the door as it slid open, trying to be the first to get a glimpse of the new classmate. However, Kise simply ignored the commotion and continued to wallow in self-pity, and Murasakibara chewed his chip, staring blankly at the board.

* * *

"Why are both of you here?" Kuroko questioned, completely forgetting about the rest of the class.

Akashi, Midorima, Aomine and Momoi frowned softly as they looked between the two new students and Kuroko. Based on how Kuroko acted, Akashi knew that the three must be close. If memory serves, Kuroko had mentioned some childhood friends briefly once in a while. He was unsure of it though as Kuroko was never one to converse much about his past.

The red-haired stranger gave an almost feral grin as he approached Kuroko. For a moment, Momoi felt that she was looking at another Aomine. They blinked as the boy raised his hand and rubbed Kuroko's head affectionately. To their great surprise, Kuroko didn't get annoyed by the action.

"Is this how you greet an old friend, Kuroko?" the boy asked teasingly.

"It's how I act when I'm surprised, Kagami-kun. Now answer the question." Kuroko retorted back gently.

Not losing his grin, he said, "We came to be with you, of course. Glad to know our plan at surprising you worked."

'Kagami' turned his attention to the black-haired boy when he interrupted, "Stop making such a scene, Taiga."

Contradictory to his words, the boy embraced Kuroko in a hug as he greeted, "It's been a long time, Tetsuya."

"Hai, Himuro-kun." Kuroko greeted back, a small smile gracing his lips.

By this point, the rest of the class were praying for them to be finished with their little reunion. While the three childhood friends were surrounded by a large amount of sparkles and bubbles, the rest of the room was filled with a dark and terrifying atmosphere. Unfortunately for the rest of the class, the three appeared to be oblivious to the dangerous glares.

Finally, the teacher coughed and said, "Kagami-san and Himuro-san, please return to the front of the class and introduce yourself properly."

"Sorry, sensei." Himuro apologized as he let go of Kuroko and walked back to the front of the classroom with Kagami.

"I'm Himuro Tatsuya. I will be in your care this year" He greeted politely and gave a small smile, causing some of the female population to swoon.

Kagami grinned, "Kagami Taiga. I came from America with Tatsuya. Pleased to meet everyone."

* * *

In the classroom right next door, the new student stepped inside the classroom. The whole class became rather silent when they saw the boy walk in. He calmly stopped at the front of the classroom, smiling pleasantly as he bowed, "Ren Chigusa. I had just returned from America a year ago. Due to certain circumstances, I wasn't able to participate in this school last year. I look forward to being in this class." Standing back up, he smirked, "Please take good care of me."

The cherry blossoms flew around the peaceful Teiko Middle School, oblivious to the turmoil it shall see in the new school year.


	17. Chapter 17

**Finally got this chapter to a place I liked. I started it a while back but everything got erased just as I was about to be done, so I ended up having to restart it. It doesn't have a lot of action so sorry to those who expected answers. Ren Chigusa is my OC in the story and would play the antagonist. Hopefully, everything would be revealed by chapter 20, but it would still depend as I'm still quite amazed I got this far.**

 **A big thank you to all who reviewed. I hope to hear more from my readers!**

 **Kuroko no Basuke belongs to Fujimaki Tadatoshi.**

* * *

Chapter 17

Kuroko didn't get much of a chance to talk with Kagami or Himuro throughout the whole day, having to rush out and talk to the coaches and Nijimura to start his time as the captain. Before he knew it, it was already time for club activities, so he decided to meet Kagami and Himuro then.

Kuroko sighed as he tried to capture the attention of the ones who signed up for the basketball club. None of them appeared to take notice of him, though, as they continued to chat amongst themselves. Unfortunately, his teammates had gone outside to do the warmups and the coaches apparently had to deal with a situation along the hallway so Kuroko was left to his own devices. As he sighed in frustration, a hand reaching for the megaphone, a voice suddenly boomed through the entire gym, "Hey! Pay attention! There's someone who wants your attention at the benches!"

Suddenly, everyone's attention seemed to shift to the person who shouted. Kuroko blinked as he saw that it was Kagami. He grinned at Kuroko, pointing at him at the same time. The rest of the crowd present followed his hand and connected to Kuroko. Almost all of them showed some signs of surprise as they finally noticed the rather invisible new captain.

Kuroko gave a small smile of appreciation at Kagami before turning to the crowd, holding the megaphone to his lips and 'shouted', "Would everyone please split up into the groups assigned to your number? As we are a bit short on time, please move quickly. Group A would be numbers 1-20; Group B is…"

Truth to be told, Kuroko had never spoke so much in his entire life. After giving the instructions, there were a few who disliked the ones they were paired with, and Kuroko did his best to diffuse the complaints by telling them as politely as possible to blame their own luck for arriving around the same time as that person. Luckily, Himuro helped to deal with some of the people and kept a tight leash on Kagami, who would have bashed every single one of their heads out of anger otherwise. Truly, Kuroko was grateful for the help.

New members would be new members, hot-headed and untrained, so Kuroko didn't panic that much when one of them grabbed his collar in anger after he made a few comments about his form. Kuroko did wonder briefly if Nijimura had dealt with this during the try-out last year. Maybe it was because of his appearance that the new members seem to look down on him so much.

While Kuroko contemplated on his lack of authority, completely forgetting that the younger boy still had him held about foot off the ground, the rest of the Teiko basketball club finally returned from their warmup, blinking in shock at the sight before them. A large boy holding Kuroko up, looking at him with a threatening expression, yelling. The team all gulped and slowly turned their heads to see the reaction of the five regulars, backing away cautiously. They treasure their lives, thank you very much. Unfortunately, it appears the newbies have yet to learn the lesson, and what better ways than a firsthand experience can drill it into their still-developing brains. One sacrifice is necessary for the betterment and teaching of the rest, after all.

Meanwhile, the five prodigies had gone deathly silent. A dark aurora slowly seeped out from their very beings and their eyes became filled with bloodlust. It didn't even disappear as Kise started to smile a very "bright" smile, too bright in the rest of Teiko's opinion, and walked towards the younger teen, who still bravely (idiotically) held Kuroko by the collar, not noticing the approaching danger. Midorima followed, hiding his eyes behind the glare of his glasses as he pushed it up, his lucky item, which happened to be a metal bat, held straight up in his hand. He looked ready to strike the boy without hesitation, enabling another shiver. Aomine and Murasakibara followed, one with a feral smirk and one with a deep frown.

By this point the boy had finally realized the incoming danger and let go of Kuroko hastily. Unfortunately for him, it was too little, too late. Kise immediately swooped in and fuzzed over him for any injuries. Much to his horror, he found a few red burns marring Kuroko's pale neck, and proceeded to hug "his poor Kuroko-chi" to death, earning a few glares.

As for Akashi?

He smiled that demonic smile as darkness burned from his very being. The temperature dropped a few degrees and every person within Teiko shivered. Walking calmly up to Kuroko, he gently asked, "Tetsuya, I hope you don't mind if we borrow the boy for a bit. We would like to introduce ourselves to him."

Kuroko simply blinked in confusion and replied, "Sure."

With that simple word, he had just sentenced the boy to his death.

That unnamed boy was rumored to have transferred out of the country afterwards, and was never seen again.

* * *

With that, the tryout continued with all the members much more eager to follow Kuroko's instructions. The coaches returned sometime in the middle of the tryout, surprised at the rather quiet gym with the exception of the squeaking of shoes and the bounces of basketballs. None of them tried to question the reason for the unusual situation and started to observe the new players themselves.

Coach Sanada and Coach Shirogane quickly took notice of the two new students from America, and questioned Kuroko about it. Glad to provide the information about his two best friends, Kuroko eagerly replied to their questions while keeping a close eye on the new members. The rest of the regulars, having returned to the gym, stared at Kagami and Himuro, jealousy evident in their eyes.

The dark looks worsened when it was finally announced that the two would be joining the first string, especially when Kuroko gave them a bright smile and a quiet "congratulation". Therefore, it came as no surprise when Kise jumped onto Kuroko, purposely pushing Kagami away.

Kagami, however, felt a great sense of annoyance and shouted, "Hey, who do you think you are?"

Kise simply gave Kagami an apathetic smile and answered, "I should be the one questioning who you are. Why are you acting so familiar with my Kuroko-chi?"

Kuroko softly mumbled out a, "I don't belong to you Kise-kun," which was ignored.

Kagami smirked, "I happen to be Kuroko's best friend, Kagami Taiga."

"I thought you said once that you don't see me as a friend, Kagami-kun." Kuroko said monotonously, which was, again, politely ignored.

"Why would he be friends with someone like you?" Aomine butted in, joining the argument.

"Huh?! What's that supposed to mean?!" Kagami growled out.

Himuro, sensing that he should probably step in, gently warned, "Taiga, calm down."

Suddenly, a large shadow loomed over Himuro, and he turned to see who it was, coming face to face with Murasakibara.

"Hm?" Murasakibara hummed, "Who are you?"

Himuro smiled, "Himuro Tatsuya, and you?"

"Murasakibara," Murasakibara replied, "Atsushi."

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Atsushi. Ah," Himuro paused, "is it alright for me to call you Atsushi?"

"I don't really care." Murasakibara said, "If you take Kuro-chin away though, I'll crush you."

Himuro's eyes widened a bit before he answered, "You sure are weird, Atsushi."

By then, Akashi and Midorima joined the small group as well, both looking rather displeased although Akashi hid it better. Kuroko gave a short introduction between the groups, innocent to the sharp looks and tense atmosphere coming from the group of five.

Kagami and Himuro noticed, though, and became rather concerned with the affections of the five basketball team members. After Kuroko's last year in America, the two swore to protect Kuroko to the best of their abilities. A glance between the two of them led to a silent agreement. They shall observe for now, for if the five truly cared for Kuroko, they may be able to help watch over him.

Plus, they now have a great source of entertainment, getting the rainbow-colored group jealous.

Reaching out, Kagami rubbed Kuroko's head affectionately, gaining the attention of the Generation of Miracles. Much to the prodigies' ire, especially that of Murasakibara and Aomine, Kuroko did not push his hand away and simply smiled up at Kagami with adoration in his eyes, at least, that's what it seemed to them.

Himuro caught on, and joined in, moving Kagami's hand away to smooth out his hair before asking Kuroko gently, "Would you like show us that fast food restaurant you told us about?"

Kuroko, with an almost cruel amount of innocence, replied, "That would be wonderful, Himuro-kun. Kagami-kun would come along as well, right?"

Kagami gave a grin as he answered, "Of course."

"K-Kuroko-chi, you don't mind if we come along, right?" Kise immediately cut in. He internally fumed, 'As if he'll let them spend time alone with his Kuroko-chi!'

"I'm hungry, Tetsu." Aomine grumbled, and Murasakibara agreed. Their stomach growled and, for once, they were grateful for it.

"What do you think, Midorima?" Akashi asked Midorima quietly.

Midorima pushed up his glasses and replied, "I don't have anything else planned for the rest of the day, so I'm fine with the arrangement."

"Then I guess I'll have to join as well." Akashi decided.

"Yosh! Then everyone's going huh!" Kise exclaimed happily.

With that, the large group headed for Maji Burger, conveniently forgetting Momoi, to her great horror.

Kuroko could only sigh as followed the loud, and probably very unusual, group. It really is an exhausting day.

If only he knew how bad the meal at Maji Burger would go, he would have never agreed. No one shall come out from the restaurant unscathed, for all is fair in love and war.


End file.
